Solidarity?
by Xaphrin
Summary: Before the Titans banded together, they were each their own superheroes leading double lives of normal citizens. Then a threat forced these five bantering teenagers together… what happens now? And is love a factor? (NEW CHAPTER TWELVE)
1. Chapter One

_Before the Titans banded together, they were each their own superheroes leading double lives of normal citizens. Then a threat forced these five bantering teenagers together… what happens now?_

**Solidarity?**

_December 9, 2004_

_- - -_

Large, downy snowflakes floated down from the concrete sky above. The bustling metropolis felt serene and safe during the first snowfall, as if nothing could ever go wrong in Jump City. If you were a tourist or visitor on this day, you may feel as if this was how the city had always been; just a beautiful, safe haven for everyone to enjoy. A citizen of this town would tell you otherwise. They would tell you that the city was corrupt, black, and always filled with an endless supply of crime. Some cruel human was always wreaking havoc across the streets, and it all just seemed so infinite.

On the upside to the down side of Jump City, there were five superheroes that worked diligently to keep the city as safe as superhumanly possible. They fought everything from massive bank robberies, to rescuing the helpless during an accident, to the occasional mugging problem. These five heroes did anything they could to keep Jump City a happy and secure place for all of its inhabitants.

'Cyborg' took the North end of the city, where there was mostly industrial and developmental properties, which had their fair share of problems. 'Starfire' took the South end, where most of the tourism took place with attractions, shopping, and expensive living quarters. 'Beast Boy' took the East end, which was the strange conglomeration of places like 'Little Italy', 'Little Mexico', and 'Chinatown'. 'Robin', being the busiest of them all, took the West end of the city where crime was high and his work never finished.

There was, however, a new superhero who had recently emerged on the West end. The Jump City Tribune had called her "…as dark and mysterious as a raven" and henceforth, the newcomer was named 'Raven'. No one _actually_ knew who she truly was or where she came from, but this girl was definitely a superhero and did her part.

The strangest thing about these superheroes was their desire to remain apart from one another. Except for a few instances where Robin and Beast Boy joined forces, the five heroes never made any sort of contact with one another. They each stayed within their own end of the city, rarely venturing into others territory.

No, nothing was truly _wrong_ with this. In fact some of the smaller crimes were easier to combat if they worked individually. But every citizen of Jump City couldn't help but wonder why they refused companionship. After all, weren't things always better as a team?

On this cold day, however, an accidental meeting would put a new ball into motion that would never stop rolling…

"Dick!"

Richard Grayson looked up as someone tapped on the bulletproof window and called his name. He smiled and waved back, motioning for the green boy outside to come and sit with him inside.

Garfield Logan trotted inside Fat-Boy's Burgers, which looked about as old as the city itself and smelt of vats of cholesterol rising, ancient grease. He walked over to the booth where his friend sat and plopped down, feeling the rusted springs prod relentlessly through the vinyl at his very delicate buttocks.

"Hey, Gar," Richard said, closing his English textbook, and motioning the waitress, who happened to be making eyes at him, to come and accommodate his friend with an order. "What brings you on this side of town?"

"I didn't tell you?" Garfield asked, raising an eyebrow in mild surprise. "I was cast as the plant in West View Theater's production of _Little Shop of Horrors._ It's not a _great_ theater, but at least it pays, and it's one more title I have on my audition card."

"Um… okay. You're a _plant_?" Richard said skeptically, trying not to offend his friend. "Aren't you a better than that? I mean… _a plant_."

"Uh, hello!" Garfield rolled his eyes. "The _whole_ play is about that plant. And besides, as a plant I get to eat people." He wagged his eyebrows comically at his companion, who laughed and shook his head.

"I don't know whether I should send you to therapy or say 'congratulations'," Richard replied, laughing. There was a slight pause as his eyes turned from jovial to suspicious, and darted around the restaurant looking for eavesdroppers. After he decided the place was secure, Richard leaned into the table looking firmly at the green boy across from him.

"Okay, BB," He whispered as Garfield leaned inward, "I _know_ there's a reason you're here. You are never on this side of town."

"There's a new one here, on the West end," Garfield replied, his smile fading completely from his face, and his eyes showing a severity rarely seen.

"I know," Richard said coolly, green eyes never showing emotion, lest they betray something about his feelings on the subject. "She's been cutting into my missions, not that I mind or anything… but I can't find _anything_ about her. She's a complete mystery to the entire city, including me."

Garfield's face contorted into confusion. "You know it's a she?"

"Yeah… I caught a glimpse of her once. Trust me, BB, I don't think a man can have a rack like that… even _with_ implants."

The green one snorted with surprise. "Wow… maybe I should track her down and ask for a date." He grinned comically at his companion, who only shook his head.

"Don't count on it. The millisecond she caught sight of me, she bolted. It was like she didn't want anybody to see her," Richard appeared perplexed for a moment, then shook his head in exasperation and turned back to Garfield.

"If anything," he replied, raising an eyebrow, "it _is_ a change from that 'Starfire' chick. She'll fly circles around you for hours, flipping her hair and giggling. It really _is_ disgusting to watch a _superheroine_ become one of your groupies." He laughed at the face his companion made. "You know, Dick, If I didn't know any better I'd think she had a crush on you."

"Thank you, Garfield, for that very disturbing thought," Richard said flatly, rolling his eyes. "I try very hard_ not_ to think of the masses of women out there who would be willing to put-out for Robin."

"Hey," Garfield replied easily, "You never know, they could be willing to put out for you as well."

"I'll pass on that," Richard said, leaning back in the booth in a relaxed manner.

"I just don't get it," Garfield said, shaking his head and grabbing his Pepsi. "You have women throwing themselves at your feet, and you could have any one of them. You could do the deed and never even take off the mask, and yet you refuse every time!" He sighed deeply. "I'm very disappointed in you."

Richard rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "Come _on_, Gar. Even _you_ wouldn't stoop to such a level."

"Oh, I would," he replied, laughing at his friend's expression, "if I could. But I have the problem of the green skin. I'm surprised no one's put two and two together yet. Unless there's some other hot, green guy running around Jump City's streets."

"Green perhaps, hot no." Richard laughed, then noticed the waitress bringing their food to them. She batted her eyes at him, but he just nodded and gave a polite smile as she retreated to the kitchen.

"Even as a civilian you have women throwing themselves at you," Garfield shook his head and sighed deeply. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were gay."

Richard laughed. "You'd be the one to know."

"Yeah well," Garfield said calmly as he shrugged, "ninety percent of us thespians are gay or bi, so my gay-dar is very perceptive." He took a bite of his tofu burger as Richard just laughed at him again.

"Well, good luck with that."

Garfield grinned. "I try." He paused for a moment, swallowing his food before talking again. "Hey, you wanna drop by the theater sometime this week? We're getting close to open, and I thought you might wanna drop by and check it out."

Richard raised a skeptical eyebrow. "There's something else, isn't there?"

Garfield grinned again, more Cheshire than ever. "Of course! Our assistant stage manager is _totally_ hot. I'd bang her, but every time I get close she threatens to drop the main rag on my head during curtain call." He winced, as if suddenly experiencing what that that would be like. "I guess that would be the end of my career."

"And your body, but who's prioritizing?" Richard supplied, raising an eyebrow. He thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I guess I can stop by sometime this week. But you better play one hell of a plant, Gar, or I won't come and see it opening."

"Thanks, Dick. It's so good to know you care."

- - -

'I want to know, whose bright idea it was to live on the tenth floor,' Richard groaned to himself as he walked up another flight of stairs in his apartment building. The steps under him squealed and whined, as if they were ready to break at any moment. The handrail shook and rattled, and the sounds and smells from other apartments infiltrated his senses and made Richard wish he wasn't noble enough to ask Bruce for some money for a better place to live.

As he climbed the last flight to his floor, he heard the sounds of heavy items trying to be dragged across a worn floor, and the groaning of someone exerting a lot of energy trying to do it. As Richard finally reached his landing, and looked at the door next to his own, he realized the sounds were originating from the tiny studio apartment to his right. Feeling a little curious, and noticing the door was open a smidgen, he poked his head inside.

The 22' by 25' studio apartment was littered with marked boxes, misplaced furniture, and a pretty, young girl who was on the floor, trying to push a desk into a corner, so it could hide a rather terrible crack in the wall. Richard couldn't help but look at the young girl with a wandering eye; she had long dark-lavender hair, deep violet eyes, light, smooth skin, and a very wild and curvaceous figure. It suddenly appeared as though a dark angel had moved next door to him.

Although Richard usually tried to avoid women at all costs, he could tell that there was something about his new neighbor that would keep him at her door for a long time to come. There was something in her air and in her mannerism that which told him that she was very different… something entirely unique.

"Bite me!" She yelled suddenly, angrily glaring at the desk that was refusing to budge from its comfy spot in the middle of the room. "Stay there and rot for all I care!"

Richard stepped forward and cleared his throat, now seemed a good a time as any to introduce himself… if he wasn't daft enough to screw it up. "Um, hi."

The girl spun around and raised an eyebrow at the strange new man that entered _her_ domain. "Hi…? Can I help you with something?" She asked shortly, hoping this boy didn't detain her _too_ much.

"Um, I'm your neighbor, Richard Grayson… and it sounded like you were having some trouble, so I thought I'd offer to help, or something." He suddenly felt far more idiotic as he added the 'or something' ending. How ambiguous could you get?

The woman regarded him with confusion and even slight interest for a moment, then extended her hand in greeting. "Beatrice Torres. It's nice to meet you."

Richard accepted her delicate hand and gave it a soft shake before returning it to the owner. "So, um… can I help you?"

"Oh, sure. If you want to take the left side, and I'll take this side…"

Richard took a firm hold of the desk, and together they slowly moved the heavy piece of furniture into the corner to hide the nasty gash made by aging walls and poor craftsmanship. Beatrice stood up, after making sure it was snugly placed, and smiled politely at the newcomer.

"Thanks for your help," she said after a moment of silence.

"Um, sure… you know, anything to help a new neighbor," Richard felt slightly uncomfortable as they stood there without anything to talk about. He was suddenly feeling the strange effects of just barging in on her solitude; after all, it really wasn't his place to do so.

"So…" Beatrice started as she pushed a lavender braid over her shoulder, and went to move a chair under the desk. "You live in the apartment next to me?" She turned and looked at Richard, her eyes shining brightly as silver, winter sun penetrated the window and lit up her eyes. Their strange, and unusual shade drew the male deep into their depths and made him wonder if he would ever stop drowning in the color.

"Yeah. I've never had to share the bathroom… but I guess it'll have to work…" He said, trying to make light of the situation. Beatrice didn't even flinch, she just nodded politely and went to move an end table into the opposite corner of her desk.

"Well, I'll try not to take up too much of your 'primping time'," She stated sarcastically, as she decided the end table looked fine in its new spot. Beatrice stood up and looked over at her guest, then smiled a little. "Are you a student?"

"How'd you guess?" Richard asked with a slight, exasperated laugh.

"Why else would you live in a hell-hole like this?" The young woman said with the same laugh. "So, I guess you go to the western campus of JCU?"

"Yeah… it's a better commute than going all the way down to Chauton, on the South end." Richard was trying to keep conversation going, lest he suddenly feel too awkward and have to exit her presence; that was the _last_ thing he wanted to do. "So… do _you_ go to school?"

"Yep," Beatrice replied calmly, going to a box marked 'Dishes' and opening it. "Or something of the like…" She pulled out a few glasses and a Brita filter. "You want some water?" She asked, walking to the small kitchenette in the corner closest to the door. She turned on the water and made a funny face as it started running brown.

"Only if you filter it," Richard said, laughing slightly at the expression on her face. She looked so cute with her eyes all wide and her mouth and scrunched up in disgust. An adorable, dark, mysterious angel.

A musical beeping suddenly sounded from his back pocket, pulling his from his reverie. Richard strongly resisted the sudden urge to throw his cell phone out the window. Pulling it out he saw Bruce was calling him, and it was 'urgent'. Making a face of utter anger and frustration, he answered the call.

"Yeah?" He asked curtly, glancing a hopeful glance at Beatrice, who was preoccupied with making the water look somewhat drinkable. It wasn't an easy job.

"I need you to come here as soon as possible," The deep, mysterious voice called to him from the other line, evoking a heightened level of adrenaline. "I just received some very strange information I thought you should be aware of, Dick."

Richard rolled his eyes to the ceiling and sighed deeply, wishing his friend had picked a better time to pull him away from his crappy apartment building. For once he actually _wanted_ to be there. "Alright, alright… I'll be at the train station in half an hour."

"I'll have Alfred come and pick you up." There was a pause. "And _try_ to be on time, Dick. It's not very re-"

"Responsible, I know. Look, I'll be there in half an hour. I promise." He quickly hung up the phone and looked over at Beatrice, who just stood there calmly, eyes never moving from his frustrated face. The Brita filter behind her simple trickled on, working as hard as it could to get the gunk out of Jump City's water.

'That girl is so _hot_,' Richard thought as he pocketed his cell-phone. 'I guess I lucked out with new neighbors…'

"Looks like I'll take to take you up on that offer later. My friend just called me in for an emergency…" He smiled politely and waved as he started for the door. "It was nice to meet you Beatrice. Let me know if you need anything, okay?"

She nodded placidly. "Alright. I guess I'll see you later then."

"Yeah… bye." Richard waved one last time as he exited the studio apartment and approached the steps with her in his mind. She was _definitely _going to be something interesting… Richard just had the strange feeling through his whole body; and his superhero senses were rarely wrong.

'Oh, shit…' He growled inside his own mind. 'I just walked _up_ those stairs…"

- - -

And there it was! For your viewing pleasure! I promised it would be out soon and it was. I know Raven (Beatrice) was a little OOC, but I wasn't really sure how to write her, since Raven never had a human alias. OKAY And now for a note:

Beatrice: There _was_ a reason I called Raven 'Beatrice'. Beatrice was a smart, sharp-mouthed, beautiful woman in a Shakespeare play called _Much Ado About Nothing _(which is hilarious, and I highly recommend it). Originally I called her 'Elphaba' from _Wicked_, but then it started feeling weird, so I called her Beatrice instead… which isn't much better, but the allusion is far more believable.

And that is that. Also, in case you are wondering: YES this is a romance between Robin/Richard and Raven/Beatrice.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the story, I'll try and get the next chapter out ASAP!

PLEASE review!!! I always feel SO special when people review… ::Bats large, innocent eyes at reader:: Pweeeeeease?


	2. Chapter Two

**Solidarity?**

Chapter Two

_December 23, 2004_

- - -

Victor Stone poked his head out from underneath the car he was working on and looked around, eyes narrowing at every shadow and secluded corner. Something sparked his interest suddenly, and not in a good way. What was that strange noise? It sounded like someone was walking around the shop, ducking behind cars… or something.

'That's odd…' He thought, rolling himself out into the center of the garage. 'I thought I was the only one here…' Standing up, he grabbed a rag and wiped his hands off, and continued to look around for anything suspicious.

"Hey, Frank! Frank, are you here?" He called out, stepping into the office and looking around. It appeared empty, except for a shadow that had just slithered behind the counter. Victor slowly approached the Formica surface, looking very strangely at the wall behind it. "Frank-?" He asked tentatively.

_Scuffle_

"Frank?"

Without another word, the shadow jumped over the counter and attacked Victor, forcing him to the ground. The image of his dark, muscular body shimmered and wavered, until giving away to an image of a handsome, dark man clad in an armor of glowing blue technical pieces, whatchamacallits, and do-dads. He reached back and punched the dark shadow, sending him flying into the far wall of the office.

"What in hell are you!?" Cyborg cried, stepping back and readying himself for a fight. The shadow made the sound of a boiling kettle, then slithered into the garage, apparently trying to escape the fury of the superhero it had irritated.

"Get your ass back here!!" Cyborg yelled, chasing after it, "I'm not done with you!" He reached out to grab the shadow, but it slipped through his fingers like sand, and passed down into a drain on the floor.

Cyborg just stood there, staring at the small, slotted disk with blinking eyes, and shook his head. "What… was that?" He whispered in shock. That thing had just come and gone, without ever _really_ attacking Cyborg. Was it here to spy on him? Was it here _for_ him? Or was it just his imagination?

"I really hope that I was hallucinating from too many fumes…" Tapping a few buttons on his arm, the mask of a normal, attractive, buff teenager replaced the glowing mass of technology.

'That was like nothing I had ever _seen_ before…' Victor shook her head and ran his hand over his spotless head. 'I don't like it, but I don't want to jump to conclusions either…' He looked at the drain again and shifted his weight on his feet.

'I _really _don't want to do this, but…' Victor pulled out his cell-phone and looked at a number listed 'Jump City Metropolitan Hospital – Gynecology Department', "maybe I should tell Bruce…"

- - -

"So… what was the rush all about, Bruce?" Richard flopped down in a chair across from a middle-aged man with dark hair and eyes, and lines beginning to form around the corners of his eyes and mouth. He looked tired, and pushed the mountainous stacks of paper to the side of his desk, looking at them as if he wished they'd fall off.

"I just received a call-"

"When the phone rings you usually pick it up, and say 'hello' into the receiver."

This comment resulted in a large bump beginning to form on the top of Richard's head. Grumbling angrily, he rubbed his sore spot and listened attentively to what Bruce said next.

"I just received a call from Victor Stone," Bruce said softly, leaning back into his chair and motioning Alfred to shut the curtains.

"Cyborg? From the North end? What'd he call you about?" Richard interjected again, every muscle in his body suddenly tightening up, as if readying himself for battle. No one _ever_ called Bruce Wayne unless is was of utmost importance, _especially_ Cyborg. He had a reputation of a 'do it yourself' hero, and absolutely _refused_ to let anyone help him with _anything_.

"He was just in a 'fight' with a strange 'creature'," Bruce paused for a moment and took a deep breath, as if debating internally with himself. "He came out unscathed, but wasn't happy about what he saw and did battle with. Apparently it was some kind of 'sand-like shadow'. Victor said he had a feeling _it_ knew why it was there, he wanted to alert me, in case anything came up." The older man shook his head and sighed. "Sometimes I wish you would have just accepted my offer as my replacement."

Richard smiled slightly, and got up to give his surrogate father a hug. "I'm not Batman, Bruce. I'm Robin, and always will be."

Bruce smiled up at him, and ruffled his hair. "You're a good kid, Dick."

"Besides," Richard said as he moved to sit down again, "I'm not powerful enough to be your replacement. It'll be a cold day in hell when you find someone as good as you to be Batman, Bruce."

Bruce laughed lightly, feeling a slight weight being eased off his shoulders at the reaction. "I always knew there was a reason I liked you, Dick."

"Ahem, Sirs."

The two laughing men looked up at the elderly butler, who was standing next to Bruce's desk. He appeared very serious and raised an eyebrow at their jovial interlude.

"What is it, Al?" Richard asked, sitting up straight in his chair; Alfred _hated_ it when he swung his legs over the arm.

"I'm afraid Master Bruce has some 'business' to attend to," Alfred said sorely, wishing that his friend and employer had more time to himself, and his 'son'. They were always running off to save the day, and very rarely got together for rest and relaxation.

At this moment, Richard's own 'Bat-Signal' decided to go off. He winced and stood up, smiling sadly at Bruce and wishing he didn't have to go _just_ yet. Pulling out his communicator, he nodded slowly at the screen. "Duty calls in Jump City."

"As it does in Gotham," Bruce looked even more tired, and shook his head as they headed for the door. "I love what I do, but sometimes I think I get _too_ much of it."

"I wish I could say I knew the feeling, but with that new heroine in my neck of the woods, I've been getting less and less work. It's a good thing I don't get paid for this, otherwise I'd being going on strike." Richard laughed lightly, but Bruce didn't appear to find this humorous.

"I know about her, Dick. I've been keeping a close watch on this 'Raven' woman since she appeared, and her powers are very strange. I'd say, if anything, she bears more of a resemblance to the Starfire, than Beast Boy or Cyborg. She doesn't appear _human._" Bruce looked very sternly at his 'son' and raised an eyebrow in question. "I know _you_ as well, Dick. And, I know how you fare with the ladies."

"Hey!" Richard protested instantly, looking up at Bruce angrily. "It's not like I _asked_ for sex appeal, it kind of came with the body! Besides, I've never acted on _any_ of my feelings, so have _some_ faith in me."

"Just the same, Dick, _be careful_. If I don't keep a good eye on you, you could end up posing nude for _Cosmo,_ or something." Bruce replied gruffly, as the two of them trotted down the stairs.

"I can see the title now," Alfred piped up behind them, "_Rambunctious Robin Bares All."_ The two older men laughed as Richard's face turned a vibrant shade of pink.

"Actually," Bruce teased, "that's pretty catchy, Al."

"Alright!" Richard said suddenly, turning at the foot of the stairs. "I'm tired of being teased by my own guardians. And I'm going now." He started for the front door, but Alfred grabbed his shoulder.

"Master Richard," he said in his tired but jovial voice, "if you wait for a moment, I have a gift for you, which Master Bruce and I finished last week."

"Ah, yes," Bruce turned at the entrance to the silver closet and smiled. "I _was_ going to save it until your nineteenth birthday, but since you're here, you might as well take it." He reached into his pocket and tossed a set of keys to the younger male. "Enjoy." With that he walked into the silver closet, and never was heard from again.

Richard looked at the keys and then at Alfred, and raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" He asked tentatively, in case Bruce had decided it would be extraordinarily funny to give him a beat-up jalopy.

"That," Alfred replied with a sly smile, "you will have to see for yourself."

"I am frightened," Richard said, as he followed the older man through the maze of corridors that lead to the 'Wayne Car Museum'. Alfred opened the door, and pointed to a bright red motorcycle, sitting in the center of the garage.

"Happy Birthday, Master Dick."

Richard's mouth fell open and he stared at the piece of machinery, not saying anything, but making strange sputtering noises in utter shock. After a few moments he jumped up and nearly squeezed the older man to death, as if he were a young boy on Christmas morning. "I TAKE BACK ANYTHING MEAN I'VE EVER SAID TO YOU!! AL, YOU ROCK!!"

"That's nice," Alfred said, laughing and pushing the kid off him. "But you have an appointment to make, Master Dick."

"Oh… right." Richard ran over to the R-Cycle and hopped on, feeling as if his childhood dreams were coming true. He had one hell of a machine sitting proudly under him, and he was ready to ride off into the sunset on his noble and valiant steed.

Alfred chuckled and shook his head incredulously. "Go save your city, Master Dick, before you're too late."

"Thank you, Al!" Richard cried as he revved the engine to life.

"You're welcome! Be safe, and remember to steer clear of anyone from _Cosmo_!" Alfred called out as the young man sped out of the garage on his new toy. He laughed lightly as he watched the dust settle back on the dry road. Yes, taking care of superheroes could be a bit trying at time, but it was so rewarding.

- - -

Robin jumped off his brand new R-cycle and ran into the mall, rolling his eyes as he did so. What fools decided it would be fun to try and rob a _whole mall_? Because, as any self-respecting human being with half a brain cell could tell you, no one would _ever_ figure it out.

Idiots.

As he entered the building, the high-pitched whine of police sirens followed him. Turning for a moment, Robin made a face of confusion and looked at the officers spilling from the cars and into the mall. They wasted no time and immediately went to work against the 'Masked Morons'.

'Huh…,' the masked teen thought, slipping into an alley and watching the police to their job efficiently. 'Who alerted the police?' The police _never_ showed up until after a superhero had done his or her job, and it was their time to relay the letter of the law. That was how it was always done. So, the real question was, who was it that captured the robbers, _and_ made it aware to the police?

As he contemplated this thought, a slight shadow overhead obstructed the light. He thought it was an old street lamp flickering in and out, as they often did. But then it hit him...

"Raven," He whispered, eyes lighting up. He knew who had alerted the police and 'rounded up the bag guys'. It _had_ to be her; no other superhero would have _dared_ to set foot on his territory, and Beast Boy had long since left the theater.

Grinning broadly, Robin reached on his utility belt and grabbed a grappling birdrang. This girl was _not_ going to escape him, he was absolutely determined to track her down and force her to reveal who she was. Robin was well aware of all the other superheroes, including Starfire, but this new girl was a complete mystery to him.

As the boy wonder swung to the roof, he saw the back of her shadow resting on a building just a few yards away. 'Perfect,' He thought, a slow smile spreading across his lips, 'I can catch her by surprise.' With that thought, he sped across the rooftops with silent ease, then walked slowly towards her, watching the dark woman's cloak float in the cool wind that rushed by.

"If you take another step towards me, Sir, I will be forced to exert myself in an unpleasant fashion," A flat, monotone voice said, originating from the shadow in front of Robin. He made a face, then shot out of 'stealth mode' and raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you?" He asked automatically. What else was he supposed to say? After all, _she_ was the stranger.

The woman made a noise of discontent, and turned to face the boy wonder. Robin tried to gaze upon her face, to see whether it was friend or foe, but he was only met with a shadowy mask. The only exposed part of her face was her lips; perfectly shaped and trembling slightly in the cold, they were truly what attracted his attention.

"The papers call me _Raven_," she spat the name like venom and made a hissing noise. "I _suppose_ you can call me that."

Robin raised an eyebrow at her utter disdain for the title. "I'm guessing you don't like the name."

"It's cliché, and I'm anything _but_ a sheep," She said curtly. There was a long pause and Robin felt her invisible eyes prod him relentlessly with silent questions. After a moment, she spoke again. "You're Robin."

"Yes." Robin stared firmly back at the girl, hoping he looked strong and intimidating. He wanted to make sure that this girl knew that the West End was _his_ territory, and no one else's… as well as appear _somewhat_ handsome to her; He _was_ a sex symbol.

"Puffing your chest out like that makes you look like a pompous buffoon," she stated conversationally.

Robin's shoulders fell instantly and he glared at the girl. Forget about it, he didn't like her _at all_. She was a total snot to him, and didn't even apologize when she spoke so rudely. And if it wasn't for her beautiful lips, he was pretty sure that he could loath her.

"Look, _Raven_," He said, accenting her unwanted name to irritate her, which it did quite successfully. "I'm fully willing to share my territory with you, but I need to at least know who you truly are."

"Good luck, _Robin_," She snapped back, radiating a thick anger towards him. "I will tell you nothing."

Robin lost it. That was the last straw. He had _tried_ to be reasonable, _tried_ to be sensible, but she was driving him over the edge with her rude sarcasm and ill manners. "Okay!" Robin stepped forward, and didn't even flinch when she raised her hands in a motion of attack. "I just want us to get along, Raven. We can both be superheroes here, and we don't need to be in each others hair. But I can't cooperate with you if you don't cooperate with me." He was now only two feet from the strange, dark girl who had lowered her hands and watched him with an air of interest.

"I will not tell you my name, Robin. But, I am willing to coexist with you… I mean, you're _trying_ to be nice and all." She sighed deeply, then reached up and, in a symbolic act of acceptance to Robin, pulled off her hood. Long (Yes, _long_! There is a reason for this!), dark, amethyst hair tumbled from underneath the fabric, and swayed in wind. Her eyes, however, were still covered by a blue mask that shielded her identity from the curious male in front of her.

"I'm sorry you will not reveal your self to me, but I'm glad we can work together," Robin said after a moment of stunned silence. Even with the mask on, she still appeared to have the most beautiful face he had ever seen. It was shaped so exquisitely, and embellished by the tantalizing lips he had seen before.

"Sure…" Raven stared at him for a moment, then looked around in a strange silence. "So… now what?"

"Um…" Robin looked around, suddenly feeling very awkward. "I guess we can leave now."

"Good." With that, the dark superheroine jumped off the side of the roof and disappeared into the blackness of the alley below.

"Damn," Robin muttered under his breath. "That girl is hot… even if she is a total bitch."

- - -

Richard climbed the last few steps to his own floor, glancing at his watch in the process, and groaning in frustration.

'Eleven thirty, and I still have a stupid lab report to do!' He thought as his feet stepped firmly on the landing. He took out his keys and paused, glancing towards the door next to his own, and noticing no light came from the crack near the floor.

'Beatrice must be sleeping… I guess I'll talk to her tomorrow…' He smiled as he thought of the dark girl, she really _was_ something else. And Richard _really_ wanted to explore more of that 'something else' if he could.

As he opened the door, he felt himself trip over something in his doorway. Holding back a yelp of anger, Richard reached up and turned on the lights. He hissed with frustration as he untangled his legs, then saw what he had tripped over.

It was a six-pack of bottled water and a note.

Smiling suddenly, he picked up the note and read it carefully:

_Thanks for helping me today. These are for you, just in case your water looks and tastes like mine. I hope we see more of each other. Thanks again._

_ Bea_

A grin spread across Richard's handsome face. Oh yes, his new neighbor was _so_ cool.

- - -

HE HE!! Sorry it took so long to get out, I hope you liked it and all!

Actually, I have ART that goes with this story!! YESSERIE! This is what happens when Xaph has absolutely _nothing_ to do over Christmas break. She draws like a crazy fanatic… which she is… and is also speaking in the third person. Crap, I'm tired.

ANYWAY! Here are some ramblings!

1 – There is a reason for the long hair for Raven. It will be revealed in later chapters, but I'm not giving anything away now. You're just gonna have to wait and find out.

2 – I just played the 'Teen Titans Battle Blitz' game for the first time the other day, and don't you find it very odd that Raven can call in Robin? Coincidence? I THINK NOT!

3 – I was watching the crazy episode where Beast Boy turns into a… beasty _thing_, and I noticed how protective Robin was over Raven. Coincidence? I THINK NOT!

4 – I'm plugging my website one more time: I HAVE ART THAT GOES WITH MY STORIES!!! SO VISIT MY WEBSITE! 

5 – PLEASE REVIEW! If you're lucky I might get another chapter out before the New Year (Actually, that's highly probable, so I wouldn't worry about the wait too much. But just the same… I like to hear from you!)

Lots of Love: Xaph!

PS: **Happy Festivus! **Festivus for the Rest of Us!


	3. Chapter Three

**Solidarity?**

Chapter Three

_December 26th, 2004_

- - -

Beatrice looked up from her novel as she heard the strangled cry of the over-used stairs in her 'new' apartment building. She listened carefully, trying to determine the pattern of the tread and whom it belonged to.

'Richard…' Her cheeks flushed instantly, and she raised her hand towards the light across the room. In a short instant, the switch turned and a blanket of darkness fell across the room as the electricity was cut from the light.

Beatrice held her breath and listened as keys were being pulled and tossed around, finally sliding into a keyhole. Suddenly, there was a loud thump and a strangled cry, as if someone had toppled over themselves…

Or a small gift a young woman had placed in a doorway.

After a few more minutes, some hushed swearing, and a 'click', Beatrice could tell that her handsome neighbor had retired for the evening. She took a glance at the wall separating their rooms, and then turned the light back on in her room. But her novel continued to lay, temporarily forgotten, by her side.

It had been quite the day for the dark woman. She had moved into a new apartment, met her neighbor, had him help her move her possessions, be attracted to him at first sight… but that wasn't the important part. And, on top of all that, she had fought a band of idiotic robbers, alerted the police, and made an alliance with a pompous, over-bearing, bastard of a powerless superhero.

Yes, all in all, the day had been _quite_ trying on the young woman's poor nerves.

Beatrice stood up and tiptoed silently to a chest that was currently serving as her dresser/closet, and pulled out a dark blue cloak. She shook the dust off of its smooth fabric and ran her fingers carefully over the broach that clasped it together. As much as she hated her home planet, she _was_ beginning to miss it. It was the place she grew up, the place where her friends were…

But her friends weren't 'chosen ones', and therefore didn't have to haul their happy asses halfway across the galaxy to 'find their inner-demon'. This, Beatrice was beginning to discover, was just a sly way to say 'You're weird, different, and a bastard child… get off our planet'.

Nonetheless, upon the day of her arrival Beatrice had been stalked and attacked, and if it hadn't been for her powers and some kind stranger, she would no longer be the pure and holy being she is today.

It had been dark and rainy… weather that made her feel at home, and unconsciously let down her guard. As she strolled the streets for a cheap hotel to stay at, she was unaware of two, crudely dressed males that tailed her. She turned into an alley to sit and rest her feet for a moment. That's when the hand clamped over her mouth, and another slid over her chest.

Hands grasped her jeans and yanked them down painfully. She cried and tried to chant her mantra, to throw these bags of scum back into the sewer they came from. But, the hand on her mouth was too tight, and her powers were too weak from recent travel without her verbal spell. Dirty hands ripped at her tender leotard beneath her clothes, slashing the precious, expensive fabric from Azarath into pieces.

Her strong limbs flailed and tried to attack the cretins who violated her, but they were instantly bound by the faceless evil around her. As the hand around her mouth moved to cover her nose as well, Beatrice felt her mind become foggy and her powers subconsciously lash out at the beings around her. However, just before she sank into unconsciousness, she saw a brightly adorned male jump into the alley, throw around some kung-fu, and wield a long, metal pole.

When Beatrice awoke the next morning, she was in a quaint mom-and-pop hotel in the West End. The desk attendant said a young man dropped her off and paid for her night's stay. She was shocked to discover that someone could care for another person they had never met before. They cared enough to keep them safe.

On the day of her attack, Beatrice had seen both ends of the spectrum to the human race. She had seen utter evil in the facelessness of her attackers, and complete kindness in the facelessness of a stranger. She had a choice suddenly set out before her: stay on this planet and do good… or leave and care nothing for the human race.

The more she pondered her choice, the more she realized something: that stranger had altered Beatrice's decision. There truly was no decision to make. She was going to stay and do good… just as someone had done for her.

Beatrice sighed and put the bundle of blue fabric back into her chest. The more she thought about it, the more she was becoming less and less like the people of her world. Earth had changed her, there was no mistaking that, but it had not changed her in a way that her own planet would find acceptable. Yes, Beatrice was becoming…

_…kind._

'Oh well…' she thought, tossing off her pants and crawling onto the mattress on the floor, which served as her bed. 'I guess things could be a lot worse than me being _nice_… I can't think of anything right now, but I'm sure there is _something_.' Reaching across the room with her mind, she turned the light off and was encased in a cool darkness.

Beatrice lay there, trying to fall asleep, but something kept her from doing so. There was a strange feeling in the back of her mind. It was calling out to her, telling her that something was amiss… and sleep should not be had. She tossed and turned for several more minutes, before finally calming the feeling down enough to rest her eyes…

_HSSSSSSSSSSSS_

Beatrice shot up in bed, suddenly feeling the presence of something else… something that wanted her dead.

She flicked on the light, and saw a buzzing, dark shadow loom over her head, reeking with an aura of anger and evilness. She jumped to her feet instantly and raised her hands for an attack, but the beast was ready. It lashed out at her, and smacked her squarely in the head, sending her flying back to the mattress.

Clutching her head, and realizing there was little left for her to do, she ducked and dodged around the creature, drawing it into the middle of the room. Wrapping her mind around her chest, she hurled it at the monster, which only disintegrated as it struck. After a moment of a high-pitched shrieking and uncoordinated flailing, it reconvened and looked (if it had a face) angrier than before.

"Well, shit," Beatrice muttered under her breath.

"BEATRICE!" A voice called from the hall. "BEATRICE!" There was some pounding and kicking, and then the door broke loose from its hinges and fell to the ground. There, standing in the yellowish, old light from the hallway was a savior of sorts.

Richard.

He wasted no time and jumped forward to attack the creature and defend Beatrice. But, the creature had other plans. With the same, hissing-kettle noise it made before, the sandy shadow jumped down Beatrice's drain, and was never heard from again.

Richard growled angrily at the kitchen sink and shook his head. Then he turned back to Beatrice, who stood there with wide eyes and watched him, surprised at his conduct. He blushed a little, then approached the woman and looked into her eyes.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did it hit you?" He shot questions off at rapid fire, and began to examine her tender body for bruises, cuts, or welts of any kind.

"I'm fine," She stated curtly, batting him away quickly. "Nothing happened."

Richard stared at her incredulously, as if he couldn't believe the words that had just erupted from her mouth. "You were just attacked by a monster, and all you can say is 'nothing happened'?" There was a pause and a sigh, as he shook his head. "You're crazier than I thought."

"Look, I'm fine… really…" Beatrice sighed and rolled her eyes, hoping that he didn't see through her nonchalant façade. In all honestly, her heart was fluttering painfully inside her chest at his attention. She was surprised, and kind of flattered, that he came to her rescue like that. Even if he didn't get to be the night in shining armor, at least he got to play it. But, she couldn't let him know about that; it was just an infatuation… that's _all_.

"That cut on your temple will tell me otherwise." He grabbed her hand gently and pulled her out of her apartment and into his own. "At least let me clean that up."

Beatrice reached up with her free hand and touched a deep gash the thing had made when it attacked her. It wasn't pouring blood, but it wasn't something that could go unattended either. She bit her bottom lip to keep from whimpering, she _hated_ earthly treatments for cuts. They seemed to cause your more pain than good.

"Here…" Richard set her down in a chair at his table. "Rest here for a second." He went to the cupboard and pulled out a small First Aid kit. Beatrice watched him carefully as he locked eyes with her for a moment then went back to searching.

After a minute of silence, Beatrice decided that she _had_ to say it. After all, it was rude if she didn't, and he _had_ gone out of his way to try and help her.

"Thank you… for helping me."

Richard looked up, a surprised look playing on his face. He smiled gently at her and pulled out what he had been looking for. "I'm just trying to help a friend in need." There was a short pause as he walked over to where Beatrice sat, waiting for him to 'heal' her. "Do you know what that thing was doing there?" He asked, sitting down next to her.

"No…" Beatrice said looking up at her neighbor. She was telling the honest truth, she _didn't_ know why it was there, only that it wanted her dead. That was all she could decipher from the creature's arrival, and she had no intention of telling Richard that, lest it lead to questions of _why_ it might want her dead. After all, what self-respecting crime lord _wouldn't_ want a superheroine terminated?

"Hm…" he concentrated for a moment, then shook his head and shrugged. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Beatrice asked, watching with horror as he put rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball. "It's not your- ow! Hey, that stings!" She shoved his hand away and glared at him sourly.

"Well if it felt good, then it wouldn't be working. Now hold still, or it's going to hurt more," He pressed the cotton ball back on her temple, and watched her carefully as she bit her lower lips to keep from hissing obscenities at him.

'What stupid, dolt of a male thought up the idea "if it doesn't hurt it's not working"!?' Beatrice thought as Richard continued to hold the fabric torture to the side of her head. Finally he released her from her prison, and dabbed at her gash with gauze.

"Is that better?" He asked, looking into her eyes for a moment.

Beatrice was suddenly lost in a forest of green light. All she saw were Richard's amazing eyes and nothing else. Taking a deep breath she quickly pulled away, and averted her eyes from the holy light. What was happening to her!? Why was this person, whom she only met today, being so nice to her and driving her mad with some strange emotion? Why?

"If you call liquid needles better," She retorted quickly, hoping to hide her flushed cheeks. 'I hate men. I hate men. I hate men…' Beatrice chanted inside her mind.

Richard sighed and rolled his eyes as he stood up. "I'm only trying to help."

The dark woman cringed as she watched him stalk away from her, an aura of rejection filling her senses. Sighing deeply, she stood up and approached him. "Look, Richard… thank you, for helping me. I don't mean to be rude… but, I'm just not used to people trying to help me. I normally do things on my own."

Richard turned and smiled gently at her, knowing exactly how she felt. "I only want to help you, Beatrice."

"Well… thanks. It _is_ appreciated."

There was a moment of strange silence as Beatrice backed away from him, and slowly started for the door. The air around the two of them had grown eerie and she wasn't sure what should be done about it. "Well… I'm going to go back to my own apartment now. Good night."

"Wait!" Richard said, jumping toward the door and blocking her only exit. He reached out and took her upper arm gently, to keep her where she stopped. "I'd feel a lot better if you stayed here for a while… at least tonight."

Beatrice's eyes went wide and her face flushed instantly at the suggestion. As much as she thought her neighbor was cute, there was _no way_ she was going to spend a whole night with him… alone.

"No way!" was all she sputtered before bending down and trying to duck her way around him. He grabbed her firmly around her waist, and held her in the exact spot she stood, not giving her any leeway.

"Look, I don't think you being alone in your apartment is safe," Richard said firmly, looking down at the face that was near his waist. "What if that _thing_ comes back?" He raised an eyebrow in suggestion.

"Then I'll cry for your help, duh! It's not like our walls are sound proof." She wiggled for a few more minutes, trying to loosen his grip. But it was to little avail; this handsome neighbor of hers was strong. "Will you please let me go now?"

"Not until you say you'll stay with me."

"I'm going to beat you in a moment, unless you let me go," Beatrice said, eyes narrowing at him. His grip only tightened, and his face grew very serious.

"I'm _not_ going to take advantage of you, Beatrice. I'm not like that, but I really don't think it's safe for you to be alone in your room right now. Something bad could happen again… and well, at least there's strength in numbers." Richard looked at her earnestly, eyes trying to search her own.

"Fine," Beatrice said after a moment of thought, "but can I at least get some pants on? I'm trying not to make it a habit to strut around men in my underwear." She looked up at him flatly.

Richard face flushed instantly, and he quickly released her waist. Somehow, in the midst of all the excitement and battle, he had failed to realize that Beatrice was walking around without any pants on, exposing a little more skin than Richard was used to. "Um… sure…"

"Thank you!" She replied curtly as she stood up and opened the door. As that slab of wood opened a tall, green-eyed redhead wearing a mini-skirt, a low-cut tank top, and pair of stilettos greeted the dark woman. She blinked at the new stranger, and the stranger blinked back.

Beatrice slowly raised an eyebrow in confusion as her careful eyes surveyed the being in front of her. 'Who wears _that_ get-up in the dead of winter? … Unless she works the streets?' She took another long look at the stranger and came to a final conclusion. 'She works the streets.'

"Dick?" the redhead suddenly called out, twisting her head around the dark woman in front of her, "who is this woman?" She looked at Beatrice again, "and why isn't she wearing any pants?"

A light suddenly went off in Beatrice's head, and her eyes narrowed to very small slits. 'So, _that's_ why that bastard was so damn eager to keep me here! He wanted a two-for-one deal!'

Her pale face suddenly turned fuming red and she whipped around to glare into the shocked eyes of her neighbor. The world around the edge of her eyes turned dark, children ran home to their mothers, and small animals suddenly dropped dead in their tracks… Beatrice was _mad_.

"_You are a sick, twisted… ARG!_" Beatrice reached back and punched him full in the face. "BASTARD! IF YOU EVER TRY TO TALK TO ME AGAIN, I WILL BEAT YOU TO A BLOODY PULP!!" She yelled, through the shaking floorboards, lights, and furniture.

And with that last statement, she pushed the redhead to the side and stormed back into her own apartment, calling him several obscene names as she did so.

- - -

HA HA! I _TOLD_ you'd I'd get it out ASAP! Aren't you all so proud of me! (Beams) Okay, well... just thought I'd make a few comments before I run away to write chapter four.

1 – I SO totally didn't _know_ you could call in any other characters for the Teen Titans game! That's SO awesome!! I'm actually gaming challenged. I have trouble playing Tetris... so you know, I don't really think outside that box a whole lot. (It took me like a day to figure out how to play the Inu Yasha game on Adult Swim)

2 – HAPPY FESTIVUS! Even though the season has come and gone, I still wish you the best of… _whatever._ I hope, that I can get another chapter out before the New Year. But don't expect too much, because I am five papers behind in one of my classes… and I need a 3.5 to stay in NHS… I'm at a 3.3 right now… oops. Oh well, if all else fails I'll just burn down my school…. Muwahahahahahahaaaaaaa okay, enough of that.

3 – PLUGGING MY SITE! Come visit my website. If you go to my profile page, and click the link that says 'homepage' you can go to my homepage. Nifty, huh? (HEY THERE'S ART THERE!)

Okay… well, that's about it. Remember: I don't own Teen Titans, so don't sue me because I have _nothing_ of value… I think.

PS: PLEASE REVIEW!


	4. Chapter Four

**Solidarity?**

Chapter Four

_December 27, 2004_

_- - -_

"Oww!" Richard smacked the hand hovering near his face away and glared into blank, emerald eyes. "I'll have you know, Kori, that this is _your_ fault." He raised the ice pack to his eye and turned away from the girl again.

Kori blinked innocently, watching as his face shifted between expressions of frustration and pain. "I don't understand, Richard… what do you mean?"

"If you hadn't shown up in the dead of night in _that_ get-up, the misunderstanding of the century wouldn't have happened, and I wouldn't have a black eye!" Richard sighed deeply.

'And… I'd still be here with Beatrice,' he added silently and solemnly. 'I guess I can't blame her, I'd be pretty mad too… damn it, Kori, you always have the _worst_ timing.' He shook his head and looked at the redhead, who hovered near his body. One quick look down her excessively low-cut tank top, and reality came hurling back at Richard. What _was_ this dolt of a girl doing at his apartment, miles from her own territory, and in the middle of the night… _and_ dressed like a whore?

"Kori, what in blazes are you doing here anyway?" Richard asked, sitting up and glaring icily at her. "And if it isn't a good excuse, I will personally throw you out the window." It wasn't that he didn't _like_ Kori, she was really nice and kind to anyone she met, but she drove Richard _crazy_. All she did was hang on him and flirt with him, and basically drive him mad with unwanted attention. If he wanted to be the object of her affections, she would know by now.

"I was attacked… by one of those shadows." She said softly, sitting next to him.

Richard looked carefully at her, now that she had his full attention. "Did Bruce tell you about them?" He asked, dropping his voice low, "Did you inform Bruce?"

"Yes…" Kori replied, looking at Richard with big, shiny eyes. He just rolled his own in response. "I was attacked earlier today," the redhead continued, "It was very strong, but I managed to hold it off for a while… until it left."

"Then why didn't you come to me immediately?" he asked, looking at her incredulously. After a moment, and another flip of the red hair, Richard realized _why_ Kori had taken so long to get here: she had taken time to get ready. He felt complete anger suddenly boil in his veins as he looked at the girl next to him. She had not only wasted time in trying to impress him, but also destroyed his chances with his next door neighbor. Now he'd be lucky if Beatrice would even _look_ at him.

"Get. Out." Richard suddenly forced out through clenched teeth.

"What?" Kori looked at him with big eyes.

"Get out, Kori. Or my hand is going to swing on its own. You wasted time and valuable information by trying to _impress_ me; we could have been one step closer to figuring out what the hell attacked you, Victor, and Beatrice. Speaking of which, if you hadn't shown up here in the middle of the night with thoughts of getting laid, then I would still have my friend next door!! SO GET THE HELL OUT!" His voice had reached an ear-deafening volume, and he didn't really care who heard him. This was the last straw! Kori was always doing some crazy stunt to get Richard to like her, but it wasn't going to fly anymore. She was going to remove herself from his sight, or suffer the consequences.

Richard stood up and walked to the door, then swung it open. "OUT!" He pointed into the hallway and glared. "NOW!"

Kori stood up and walked sadly into the hall, a look of guilt crossing her face. "I'm sorry, Dick… you're right. I shouldn't have wasted time…" She looked down.

Richard took a sharp breath and shook his head, feeling exhaustion overcome his anger. Too many times had this happened: Kori did something, he got angry, then he felt bad for yelling and the whole plan went back to phase one. It was becoming too much a stupid routine.

"Just… just don't do it anymore, Kori. You're a nice girl and all, but we're not going to be together, we're too different. Here." He handed her a jacket of his and looked at her firmly, as if he had just finished berating a child. "Take this and cover yourself up. Now call a cab, and don't take the bus. Otherwise I'm going to have to deal with a rapist."

"Yes, Dick…" Kori nodded, then started down the stairs, taking one last look at the man on the landing. Richard didn't feel too bad for her though, he knew in a day or two she'd be back on her feet, thinking of some other scheme to try and 'make him hers'. That was what had happened since the day he met her, that's what would happen until the day he was standing at the altar.

He shook his head and started for the bathroom, glancing at Beatrice's door as he did so. He felt absolutely awful about what had happened, and he didn't blame her for reacting like she did… he just wished she hadn't been so violent with him. He noticed her light was turned on, and for a moment he considered knocking to explain himself… but the door suddenly swung open on its own, surprising Richard to no end.

"Um…"

Beatrice stood there, looking a little sheepish as she did so. She avoided his eyes for a moment, then looked back up at the dark-haired man and blushed. "Sorry… I mean, for reacting the way I did… I shouldn't have hit you. Are you okay?"

"Ah…" Richard just stared at her, in shock wondering why she was suddenly so nice. Was she bi-polar, or did she have MPD? Then the brick smacked him in the face, and something Beatrice said before tickled his ear:

_"…it's not like our walls are sound proof…"_

She had heard the whole conversation between Richard and Kori!

"You heard us talking, didn't you?" He asked slowly and carefully, hoping desperately she didn't hear _too_ much of what was said between them. After all, if Beatrice found out about his true identity as Robin, all was lost and he would have to move back to Gotham with Bruce. And then Raven would have complete control of the West End and Robin was _determined_ to keep her from that!

"I didn't mean to," Beatrice said, looking a little sheepish, "But the walls are so thin and you guys were talking pretty loud for a while… I mean… well, you have kind of a booming voice, Richard." She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. "Can I have a look at it?"

"What? The shiner you gave me?" Richard asked with a slight grin, hoping the ice would break between them. He suddenly had a chance at being in Beatrice's good graces, and wasn't going to let it slip through his fingers. So, he was more than excited when a small smile greeted him from behind nervous lips.

"I'm really sorry I hit you so hard…" She took a step forward and looked up into his handsome face, examining the bright red mark around his right eye. Richard's first urge was to step back, but the closeness of his neighbor actually drew him in. Her tender face was focused on his injury, and for once in his life Richard wished it had been worse. That way she would have to stay and take care of him.

"It's not life-threatening," she said after a moment, "but it's definitely going to leave a mark." She went to take a step back, but Richard quickly took her shoulders in his strong hands. Beatrice paused and looked up at him, feeling her stomach knot tightly at his intense, green gaze. She needed to get out of his arms… lest something happen.

"How… how much did you hear?" Richard stumbled over his words as Beatrice took another step back, putting them at arms length. He sighed and let his hands fall from her shoulders as her face turned away from his own.

"All of it…" Beatrice blushed, looking away.

"Even the whispers?" Richard's face paled immediately.

"Just snippets of the whispers… names mostly. My name, a 'Victor' and a 'Bruce'… that was all, I swear." She looked up at him in earnest. "But I heard everything else… I didn't mean to eavesdrop, Richard…"

"No… no, don't worry about it. It wasn't anything important anyway," He lied and set a small smile upon his lips, hoping his neighbor didn't put two-and-two together yet. "It's getting late, Beatrice… you'd better get some rest."

"You too," She said, starting for her door again. She paused at the frame and looked back at Richard. "Thanks again, for everything."

He smiled slightly at her. "It's nothing. Now go to sleep."

- - -

Richard looked at his watch and leaned back in his chair, staring at his finished and last final paper. He saved it and stood up, stretching his aching limbs as he did so. He went to his window and looked down at the sidewalk below, feeling his fatigue slowly leave him.

He looked at the wall that separated his and Beatrice's apartments and felt a small pang at his heart strings. It had been nearly two weeks since her attack, and through all the research Richard did, he kept coming up empty-handed every time. He couldn't even ask her about it because she left the apartment before Richard got up, and returned after he had gone to bed. Apparently her job, or school, or whatever she was doing, had very long and strenuous hours.

Richard glanced at his watch again and shrugged. He might as well go kill some time. Garfield should be at practice now, and the theater was only a few blocks away… he should stop by for a quick chat. After all, they opened in a week anyway, the green boy might need some luck or something.

Donning a jacket and locking his door, Richard ventured down the stairs and out into the light snowfall that worked its way around Jump City. Cold confetti dusted everything from the roof-tops to his shoulders and the winter wonderland looked as if it was taking over the city.

After ten long minutes of brisk walking, he came to an old theater that was definitely out of its prime. Walking to the stage door he pulled it open and walked inside, noting that there was no security, so it _obviously_ was a low-budget play. The dingy hallway he had just walked into was covered with old shoes, costumes, and properties. The yellowish light flickered above his head, and Richard looked up and down the hallway for another human being. Instead he was met with a walking pile of clothing.

"Um, hello?" He asked it. The clothing pile stopped and turned to him.

"Yes?" An exasperated female voice responded, muddled by the mounds of moldy fabric.

"I'm looking for Garfield Logan, is he here?" Richard asked tentatively, hoping he wasn't bothering the walking, talking mound of clothes too much.

The mound made a noise of frustration. "_That_ fool? He's onstage right now; you're going to have to wait if you want to talk to him. There'll be a break after the first act. You can follow me to the house."

"HELLO! ASS STAGE MANAGER!" A loud, snotty voice cried from the end of the hallway. "It's tech week and I don't have my costume for act two, scene two yet! _What_ are you doing about it?" Richard looked at the small, bony bitch standing in the yellowish light and looking strangely like ghoul.

"I'm going to kill you…" The mound muttered under its breath. "I'm looking for one right now! Just wait a moment, I'm heading to the sewing room to pick one out and alter, okay?" The mound replied. "So, tell Jacob he can find me there!"

"Eww, as if I'd ever talk to him!" The ghoul turned and stomped out of the hallway, muttering rude comments under her breath.

Richard turned back to the mound. "Um, do you need help with that?"

"Sure."

Richard reached out and grabbed a few armfuls of clothing, and revealed the face hidden beneath the mountain. "Beatrice!?" He cried, feeling very surprised at such a familiar face.

"Richard!" She said in surprise, a small smile playing on her lips. "Well, this is a surprise, what are you doing here?" She turned and started off down the hall, with him close behind her.

Richard had to side step a few boxes, but he just followed her deeper into the maze of corridors. "I came to see Gar. He told me he was the plant and that I should stop by and see him act."

"He makes a good plant," she said as she turned into a small room with several mirrors and two sewing machines. Piles of clothing and fabric lay strewn around, labeled with tags like 'P: AISII'. "His pick-up lines are left to be desired. You can just toss those on the floor."

He dropped his load of clothing next to a sewing machine and took a good long look at the woman he hadn't seen in weeks. She looked smaller and exhausted, as if she hadn't gotten any sleep or food in days. Her hands and arms were covered with cuts and bandages, and her hair fell down from her braids, creating a purple halo around her face. She looked like she could use a nice, long nap.

"You look tired," he said, approaching her. She shrugged nonchalantly and began diving into piles of clothing, looking for the ugliest dress possible to put on the ghoul. "You look like you could use a good meal and a nap."

Beatrice let out a short laugh and stood up, looking at her companion. "That's an understatement. Our wardrobe woman quit last week because of the Queen of Everything you happened to chance upon, and now it's my 'honor' to take on her duties for a whole extra five dollars a day." She rolled her eyes and tossed a ratted petticoat to the side. "I feel like I'm making the big bucks."

"I'll give you five dollars if you leave right now and come get some food with me," Richard offered her his hand, but she just batted it away with a smile.

"Thanks for the offer, but I've got too much to do right now… I'll be able to sleep and eat in a few weeks," She said calmly, pulling out a long, brown and unbecoming dress. "Yes, this will look just fine on Priscilla."

"Hey, Bea!" A long-haired, scruffy looking man, dressed in all black and carrying a clipboard poked his head into the sewing room.

"Yes, Mitch?" Beatrice responded without looking up from her piles.

"Light 6A on catwalk 3 just blew and Jacob wants you to fix it." With that he turned and walked away, not saying anything more to the dark girl.

"Oh goodie." Beatrice stood up and shook her head, grumbling angrily at her situation. Finally, she turned back to her companion and gave a tired, weak smile. "Come with me and I can show you to the house, I think Garfield is onstage right now." She headed for the door and motioned for him to follow. Richard suddenly felt no desire to see his friend. Now the only thing he wanted to do was be around his neighbor… and feed her. She had peeled off her hooded sweatshirt to reveal the thinness of her body beneath a black tank top.

"Are you coming?" She asked tossing the shirt to the side and motioning him with her arm. "Garfield isn't going to be onstage forever you know."

"Right… right… you just…" He started to say something, but cut himself off. "Forget it. It's not important."

"I just… _what_?" She asked raising a challenging eyebrow.

"You just look thin." He stated finally.

"Not eating does that to you, come on," She said calmly, exiting the sewing room, Richard in tow. He watched her lithe form dart around boxes and other objects as they traveled to the house. He had almost forgotten how utterly attractive and _sexy_ she could be… it almost made him sick with desire.

She stopped suddenly and pointed to a set of old, flaking doors which were barely hanging on their hinges. "If you go through those doors, you'll be in the house. Sit in the back, or the director will have your ass. I've got to go fix some lights, talk to you later." Without another word she quickly disappeared into the maze of corridors he had just exited.

"She's so hot…" he whispered before turning back to the doors.

Richard carefully opened the left door, and a strange sight greeted him.

There was Beast Boy on stage.

Not Garfield, but _Beast Boy._

And another one of those damned shadows standing right across from him. It lashed out at Beast Boy, who was caught off guard. And, with a sickening 'thwack' the green boy fell on the stage, suddenly unconscious from the impact.

'Well, shit.' Richard thought, stepping back from the doors. He let them slide back in place and tried to ignore the screaming inside the house as people ran for exits and went to try and save Beast Boy. He quickly pulled off his shirt and pants, revealing a brightly colored spandex suit beneath the cotton. Pulling a mask from his belt, he placed it firmly in place then went to attack the shadow.

He threw open the doors and bounded inside, in just enough time to watch the shadow grab Beast Boy around his midsection, and slide to the roof, like personified oil. "Shit! BB!" Robin called after him, running up on stage. "Stop, you fucking bastard and give me back my friend!" Robin yelled at the hole in the ceiling, as the last bit of shadow slithered onto the roof.

"Oh, yes. Because telling it to come back is going to work," a cold, snide voice said from his side. He turned to discover the hooded Raven standing next to him, looking up at the same hole in the roof. He felt a surge of anger and frustration at her, but quickly decided it would be pointless to get into a fight with the mysterious warrior, they were wasting precious time as it was.

"Well, why don't we go after it then!?" he yelled angrily at her, pulling a grappling birdrang from his belt. Launching it to the ceiling he took a strong hold and was quickly pulled to the roof, Raven flying close behind him.

"STOP!" he cried as his feet landed safely on the roof. The sand-like shadow turned at looked at Robin with an air of surprise.

"Drop him!" Raven cried as she broke onto the roof with the masked boy wonder.

Robin turned to her and raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Oh, so _you_ can command it, but I can't?" He asked snidely. Raven hissed a bolt of black energy at him, and he quickly silence and turned back to the task at hand: Saving BB.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" In a moment a few barrels were flung at the creature. They hit dead on, disintegrating the creature for a moment.

A painful shriek erupted from its center, before it reconvened and grew angrier. The shadow dropped Beast Boy to the ground, and charged at Raven. She flew out of its path and tossed another nameless object at it. Meanwhile, Robin pulled out his metal pole and went crazy judo on the shadow.

It suddenly cried and shied away from Robin and Raven's relentless attacks, then jumped off the roof and plopped into a storm drain in the center of the sidewalk. Robin growled angrily and was about to chase after it when Raven grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't," She said firmly, looking at him through her own mask. "You'll find yourself in trouble. You should concentrate more on helping your friend."

Robin ran to his friend, and found that he was alright, but unconscious… he wasn't going to be happy in the morning. Finally, Robin turned back to Raven and looked at her strangely for a moment, then decided to speak. "What are you doing here?"

Raven laughed curtly, the air around her suddenly turning irritated. "I guess a 'thank you' isn't in order, is it?" She turned to the masked boy wonder and raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Remember, we made a deal to _share_ the crime. I happened to be in the area, and heard the distress… so I helped."

"Well, _yeah_… but… oh, alright!" The boy wonder flailed for words. "_Thank you_, there are you happy?" Robin said, exasperated at her nonchalant attitude. He looked at her firmly as a slow smile spread across her full lips, making the shape of her face appear more pleasant and beautiful.

"Ecstatic," she replied flatly, taking a few careful steps toward the fallen Beast Boy, she reached out and placed a glowing blue hand over his body.

"Hey!" Robin said suddenly, stepping forward and pulling her shoulders back. "What are you doing to BB?" He hissed, forcing her to turn around and face him.

"I'm healing him!" She snapped, trying to tug her shoulders away. But, it was to little avail, the powerless superhero turned out to be very strong. "Let me go, so I can finish." She said firmly, feeling the air around them change. It no longer fizzled with tension, rather it felt soft and warm… even in the cool winter, night moon.

Robin wasn't sure why he did it. Maybe it was the fact she was in his arms; maybe it was because her lips shone like silver in the pale moonlight; maybe it was because he found her one of the most attractive women he had ever seen… whatever the reason was, he did it just the same.

He leaned down and kissed her full on the lips; deeply and passionately, refusing to relinquish the mouth back to its owner. His lips danced and played on her own, and his arms snaked around her waist, pulling the dark superheroine closer to himself and pressing her body tightly against his. She was beautiful, even in her harsh sarcasm and darkness, beautiful enough to unlock Robin's primal desires.

He hadn't meant to do it. He truly hadn't. But she was so close… so beautiful…

Robin pulled away slowly, finally returning the lips to their owner. He tried to look into her eyes, but they were covered by a dark mask that hid everything from him. He wanted her to be angry! To be furious and strike out at him with everything she had! To punish him like the bad person he was! But her racing heart, pressed tightly against his chest, told him she felt otherwise… she felt the complete opposite.

Raven's hand crept into his hair and she pulled him down for another kiss, this one more primal than the last. Her mouth opened and their tongues danced and dance that had been done for millennia. His firm hands explored the wild, undiscovered land of her body, and her soft moaning only urged him on more.

Robin slowly pulled away, his chest heaving deeply as every hormone he had poured through his veins and made him go wild with desire and lust. "Raven…" he whispered, his hot breath lingering in the cool air. His fingers slid up the side of her face, and slowly touched the mask that clung to her pale skin.

She didn't stop when his fingers worked under the edge of the fabric, preparing for the mask to come off… he pulled slowly, ready to see her true identity-

"Ugh… that really hurts…" Beast Boy finally stirred, and Robin's gaze shot from the woman in front of him, to his fallen friend. A sudden light of joy shone down upon him, and he rushed to where the green boy lay.

"BB!" Robin cried, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…" he said, sitting up and rubbing his temples as a headache slowly began to work it's harsh course through his head. "Man, that thing packed a punch. What _was_ that anyway, Rob? It looked like some sort of weird shadow…" He asked, rolling his neck and trying to stretch out the muscles that were tightened from harsh handling.

Robin plopped down in the snow next to his friend and sighed deeply in frustration. "I'm not sure… but Bruce and I are trying to figure that out." He thought slowly and carefully for a moment, then stood up and offered his hand to the green boy on the ground. "Speaking of whom… we should go and pay him a visit."

Beast Boy nodded, a rare serious look crossing over his face. "You're right… we'll go and take care of that right now." He stood up and scanned the rooftop for anymore unwanted visitors, but he saw no one, only a piece of blue fabric fluttering on the ground in the cool winter breeze.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing to the fabric. Robin's eyes connected with the color, and he knew immediately what it was and who it belonged to.

"Raven…" Robin whispered, then leaped out and grabbed the blue mask that lay on the ground. He scanned the rooftops and peered into the alleyways for her, but she was no where to be found. She had bolted the moment Robin's attention was averted… and it was now the boy wonder's biggest mistake.

- - -

HI THERE FOLKS! HA HA! I think that's the fastest I've ever updated, and one of the longest chapters I've ever written! Aren't you all so _proud_ of me? Okay… so not much has changed in _a day_, so there isn't anything else I can plug or talk about. So…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

And please review!

(Hey… that rhymes!)

Love: Xaph!


	5. Chapter Five

**Solidarity?**

Chapter 5

_December 29, 2004_

_- - -_

The sweet, heavy scent of freshly prepared Chinese food seeped from the brown paper bag and infiltrated Richard's senses as he climbed the stairs to his apartment. The unmasked boy wonder sighed deeply as his feet tread another flight of stairs. The night had been anything but good… well, except for _one_ thing. But that _one thing_ caused him more frustration than pain.

What made matters worse was that another shadow creature had attacked his friend, and due to the damage inflicted upon that rickety old building he friend was now out of work; AKA: the play had been canceled _indefinitely_. Needless to say, when Garfield received the news he was less than enthralled.

But that wasn't the end of his night, oh no… it got much, much worse. He had to kiss _her_. His stupid, blasted hormones had to best of him and take control of his actions. He kissed _Raven_. Robin's mouth had infiltrated the sacred temple of another superhero's… and he enjoyed it. In fact, if it weren't for Beast Boy's untimely awakening, he would probably still be making out with the dark woman… and liking it.

'Why me…?' He whined silently. 'Why does God hate me so much? Enough to make me get _excited_ around a dark, depressing, masked superheroine…?' He reached into his pocket with his free hand, and pulled out the blue scrap of material that was her mask. He had nearly discovered the truth of her identity, but alas, Beast Boy's stupid body chose to wake up at that exact moment.

'Oh well… what can I do now, but wait for Raven to show herself again?' He thought sadly as he reached his own floor, and shoved the mask back in his pocket. Smiling slightly he knocked on Beatrice's door, hoping she was home. After all, Chinese food was never good the second time around.

"Hello?" The door opened, and the thin, sickly looking girl appeared in the doorway. Her eyes looked a little red, as if she had been crying, but then again… it could just be from lack of sleep.

"Hey there, Bea," Richard said, offering her a smile. "I come bearing sustenance; care to join me for Chinese take-out and a soda?"

A small smile worked its way across her mouth and she nodded slowly. "I'd like that." She followed him into his own apartment, where he placed the bag on the table and went to find the soda, which was hiding somewhere in his apartment.

"I wasn't sure what you liked," Richard said, his head currently buried in his mini-fridge, "So, I just got a quart of beef lo mien, is that alright?" He pulled out two cans of soda and set them on the table.

"That's fine, I'm not picky." Beatrice plopped down in a chair and sighed deeply, looking rather sadly at the food on the table. Richard turned around and watched carefully as several different emotions passed over her soft face, and finally ended with 'upset'.

"Something wrong?" He asked, handing her a pair of chopsticks and a bowl.

"Not really…" She said softly, setting the items down and opening her can of soda. She looked at that sadly too, and then took a sip. "I'm just a little depressed."

Richard smiled slightly. "Not eating does that to you. So eat up, you look like you need it." He pushed the box in her direction and let her fill her bowl. There was a moment of silence before he spoke again.  
"Gar told me about the theater, I'm really sorry you lost your job…" He said carefully, hoping that wasn't the root of her depression. He watched as her face kept its stony expression.

"I don't care. I was being paid below minimum anyway… I just had to do it for school," She said nonchalantly, as if the whole deal didn't really matter in the end. She passed the box back towards him and shrugged. "They'll just give me some _other_ low paying assignment I have to complete for a grade. I hate internships…" She popped a piece of beef in her mouth.

"Then why the long face?" Richard asked again. "I mean, I know you must be tired and all… but, something's bothering you. I can tell." He watched her for a long while as she chewed her beef and looked at him thoughtfully. It looked as though she was trying to decide what to say to him, or even to say _something_ to him.

"I was kissed today."

Richard coughed slightly, surprised at her bluntness. Suddenly a bell went off inside his own mind and he stared at her carefully, trying to see if her characteristics matched up with those of Raven. But, they kept coming up negative; Raven was snide and rude, where as Beatrice was friendly and nice; Raven had a colder air and treated Robin like crap, where as the air around Beatrice was more approachable and she treated Richard nicely. No, there was _no_ way that Beatrice and Raven could be one in the same. It was completely laughable.

"By who?" he asked, after taking a sip of his soda.

"Mitch," She stated quickly, looking down at her bowl.

"What? That scraggily guy who told you to fix that light today?" Richard was slowly forgetting about his meal. He didn't want to sound like some pre-teen girl, but what had happened with Beatrice captivated him… he wasn't quite sure why. All he understood was that he wanted to hear everything she had to say.

"Yeah…" she whispered softly, still gazing into her bowl, as if it held some sort of truth. Finally she looked back up at Richard and bit her lower lip, as if ready to say something painful. He kept silent, hoping she would eventually come around, and tell him what was truly going on within her mind.

"Richard… I've never been kissed before," She said finally. "I don't know whether to say I feel violated… or to say I liked it." She picked up her chopsticks again and prodded at the noodles.

"Oh… I didn't know…" He said softly, feeling very surprised at this new information. Beatrice was so attractive… so _sexy_, he thought she would have at least had sex by now. But, never been _kissed_? That was something strange.

"Of course not," Beatrice stated curtly, still prodding at her noodles. "I didn't want you to know. Whether or not I've been kissed isn't vital to our friendship."

There was another pause, and Richard watched her carefully, trying to decide if he should continue the conversation… or let it be. After all, it did seem that Beatrice was rather shaken up. But alas, his curiosity got the better of him. "_Did_ you like it? Being kissed, I mean."

Beatrice's face turned a bright red, and she shoved some noodles into her mouth. There was a long pause as she chewed slowly, drawing out the pause in conversation. But Richard was a patient man, and would wait for her answer.

"Yes."

"I don't see what the problem is then, Beatrice… if you like him and all," Richard spoke calmly, but his insides were suddenly burning. Why hadn't it occurred to him that if Beatrice _liked_ being kissed by Mitch – _ew_ – then there was a possibility that she would come 'off the market'. She could end up dating him… _ew_! That was just a sick and twisted thought. More importantly, Richard would never be able to lay a hand on the fair maiden… _ever_.

"I liked the _kiss_," She stated sharply, looking up at him firmly. "I never said I liked the _person_. He infuriates me to no end, and every time I see his damned, cocky face I'd like to punch him." She shoved more noodles into her mouth as she brooded over her lost lips.

Richard laughed lightly. "Some one should inform him of your good right hook then. Otherwise he could end up in the same situation as me." He passed more lo mien to her, which she accepted gratefully. He watched with a strange sort of happiness as the sickly girl filled her bowl again. At least she was eating now, that was a good thing.

"Enough about me," She said finally, looking up at the man across from her. "Let's talk about you… or _something else_."

"Oh," Richard said, feeling a little put out, "but, I like talking about you."

"And I don't," Beatrice said sharply, picking up a piece of beef. "So, how's school?" She asked, changing the subject.

"Fine." Richard shrugged calmly. "I just finished my final papers, so I'm free for the next week. I don't even think I'll go to class."

Beatrice chuckled a little and smiled up at him. "So what are you going to do? Just lay around this hell hole all day?" She asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

Richard counted her sly smile with one of his own. "Maybe." There was a short pause and he shrugged again, leaning back in his chair. "I've got a friend in Gotham I might go visit. I've been meaning to spend some time with him lately."

"Oh? So you'll be gone for how long?" Beatrice asked, her face showing signs of mild surprise. It looked, just for a moment, that she was upset at his departure… or maybe it was just the flickering yellow light above their heads.

"Just a few days, I've got some obligations back here," he snagged a piece of beef and watched as Beatrice's face melted into slight confusion. Richard had full intentions on telling her what those obligations were; now, whether or not they were _true_ was an entirely different matter.

"Obligations?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"You know 'Big Fish', down on Walbridge?" he asked with a completely straight face. Beatrice's face, on the other hand, had turned a bright shade of pink. She knew the place he was talking about.

"What? The male strip club?" her voice wavered for a moment, and Richard was finding it hard not to laugh at her expression.

"Yeah, well I dance there on Tuesday and Thursday evenings." He picked up some noodles calmly and munched on them happily, watching the emotions and feelings pour across poor Beatrice. She looked embarrassed, shocked, surprised, confused, and disbelieving all in one pretty façade. As much as Richard hated to admit it, it _was_ very amusing to see her so helpless for words.

"Oh… I didn't know," she said softly, turning back to the meal in front of her. Richard lost control and suddenly began to laugh, watching as Beatrice looked surprised yet again. She watched him until his fit of giggles had subsided, and was able to talk clearly again.

"Sorry, Bea…" He said, wiping at his eyes and smiling at the poor girl. "I was only joking. I don't work at Big Fish, so you don't have to worry."

"Oh…" Beatrice's expression turned suddenly, and a sly smile worked across her face. She looked carefully at the man across from her, as if asking him silent questions. "Did they turn you down? Is your body not up to par?" She asked finally, her smile still firmly in place.

"Hey!" Richard's own smile had quickly fallen from his face, and he took on an indignant look. "I have a body that any company would just fall over themselves to get!" he said sharply.

"Oh?" She asked calmly, popping a piece of beef in her mouth. "Is that true?"

"Yes! I just don't like strutting in front of hoards of women, dressed in nothing but a thong. That just doesn't appeal to me." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at his neighbor firmly, challenging her to say something else.

"Nor to the other women," Beatrice responded flatly.

"You like walking a dangerous line, don't you?" He asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow. Beatrice's smiled at him, showing white, beautiful, strait teeth in a suggestion of some unknown feeling or emotion. Something that neither she nor Richard could put into words.

"I like a life of danger…" she put another piece of beef in her mouth and gazed at her neighbor for a second, before returning to her meal.

Richard watched her carefully for a few long moments, trying to figure out what had just happened between them. He had the upper hand for thirty seconds, and in less than that Beatrice had struck him down with a game of wits. With any other woman, he would have been appalled and angry at her rude behavior, but with Beatrice… it actually turned him on. The way her eyes took on an almost 'come hither' look as she played games with him; it made his stomach tighten and his lips tremble with desired pressure. She had initiated some sort of game, and Richard wasn't going to back down… not if her eyes kept that same look.

"You're just jealous." Richard leaned back in his chair and smirked playfully at Beatrice. She looked up and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Jealous of what? Your arrogance?"

"No," he smiled, then leaned into the small table, his face coming dangerously close to her own. "You're jealous of the fact that other woman may have seen me naked."

Beatrice rolled her eyes and kept a look of exasperation, but her lips betrayed her. They trembled slightly, as if they knew what she _really_ felt.

"I want to kiss you." Richard stated suddenly, looking Beatrice firmly in the eyes. Her face paled and she jumped up from the table, looking at her neighbor in shock.

"W-what?" She stuttered carefully, eyes fluttering slightly.

"I want to kiss you," Richard stated again, getting to his feet. He approached the young woman, who now looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Do you understand how attractive you are? Do you understand that you're the sexiest woman I know? Do you understand how hard it is to be respectable around you, Bea?"

"Please… Richard… I can't kiss you! I can't!" She tried to back away from him, but the back of her knees suddenly connected with his bed and had no where else to run. She silently cursed the idiot who made their apartments so small.

"Why can't you kiss me?" he asked, his hand reaching out to caress her face. He watched as her face unconsciously leaned into his touch and her eyes fluttered shut. She wanted to enjoy this, he could tell that from her suddenly placid expression. She wanted to wake up one morning and find herself wrapped within his arms… he _knew_ that. But why couldn't she kiss him? Why was she denying him something he'd been dreaming about since the day he met her?

"Please, Bea…" He asked softly, his hands going to her shoulders carefully. "I won't touch you if you tell me the truth."

Her eyes opened and she looked up at him, her dark pools showing nothing but utter sadness. "I'm afraid. I'm afraid of falling in love."

- - -

SORRY! I know it's a weird place to stop a chapter, but I hadn't really had a cliff-hanger in a while so I thought I'd pop one in. (Ducks flying object) SORRY! I'll have a new chapter up soon! So, please don't worry!!

Love: Xaph!

Please Review! If you don't I'll just have to kiss you until you do!


	6. Chapter Six

**Solidarity?**

Chapter Six

_December 31, 2004_

- - -

Beatrice paced in her apartment, constantly threading her fingers through her dark, amethyst hair. She had barely slept in two days; her mind constantly toiling over what she had said to Richard. She meant what she said, she was utterly afraid of his endless green eyes and kind manners toward her. Richard showed Beatrice so much more compassion that she had received from anyone else on earth. And, she wanted him to continue to show her what true kindness was… but, Beatrice had suddenly found herself inevitably caught between a rock and a hard place.

Richard… or Robin?

She hadn't meant for it to happen, but Robin's kiss had stirred up much more in her that she thought. His kiss had stirred up feelings in her that should forever remain locked away. He opened the doors to passion, sin, and lust, something that Raven had been trying to steer clear of since the day she had been able to think like a woman. These were emotions that all demons of her planet treasured… and Raven wanted to be _nothing_ like those of her own kind.

Robin had opened a door she _wanted_ to keep closed… but Raven liked it open. And there was something else, something Raven had never noticed until Robin had wielded that long metal pole of his.

_Robin_ had been the one who had saved her the day of her near-rape. He had been the one to keep her innocence and save her from another attack of the faceless cruelty of the streets. The moment she saw the _stupid_ stick, Raven suddenly felt a sense of complete and utter debt to the brightly adorned male… and a strange sort of attraction. Perhaps _that_ was why she let him kiss her, and she kissed him back.

'What am I doing!?' Her mind screamed and twisted from lack of sleep and overuse. She had been going on for too long, and the organ felt like it was going to shut down at any moment.

Beatrice sunk down onto her bed and gazed around at the dark, heavy curtains that separated her 'bedroom' from the other parts of her apartment. For a fleeting moment she thought she saw two dancing shadows, entangled in a passionate embrace upon her dark draperies… but it appeared her mind was just starting to shut down now.

"Why… _WHY!?_" She yelled rolling over on her stomach, and shoving her face into her pillow. "What God did I piss off enough to give me _this_ kind of Karma!? Out of the billions of men in this world, I have to be falling for the two I could never have!"

'That's not true…' her dying mind countered slowly. 'Richard freely offered his heart to you… but you told him you were afraid.'

Beatrice's eyes narrowed and she rolled back on her back, staring at the ceiling. She had dug this hole for herself, no one else. Did she love one of them? Did she love both of them? Was she even _allowed_ to love? For the first time in her life, she was truly beginning to see the barriers to being _half_-demon and _half_-human… being two halves did not make her whole. There was so much that was unanswered and unquestioned.

'It doesn't matter…' Beatrice thought, and she rose to her feet and began to pace again. 'I gave Richard a final answer… there's no turning back now.'

'That,' her mind countered again, 'is also not true… and you know it, Raven.' Her face flushed slightly, but she knew her mind spoke the truth. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, it was a truth that she did _not_ give Richard a final answer; she had only told him that she was afraid. That left plenty of room open for negotiations.

There came a slight knock from her door and she looked at it, feeling very strange about opening it, but she did anyway; knowing that Richard waited on the other side.

"Hi…" She said softly, avoiding his eyes. She could tell that their expression mirrored her own, and she wasn't ready to look into her soul just yet.

"Hi…" He replied, shifting a little uncomfortably under the lack of eye contact. "I'm leaving now, just to let you know… I was hoping you could look over my apartment while I was gone."

"Yeah, sure." She paused for a moment, and then her dark eyes finally met his. "Richard, about the other night…" She started slowly, unsure of what she should say to him, but knowing she should say _something_ to him. "I just… I like you, a lot. You're the only person I know who's shown me complete and unadulterated kindness since I arrived, but-"

Beatrice's monologue was cut short as Richard leaned down and kissed her innocently on the lips. After a few, short seconds he pulled back, his eyes showing a sort of sadness and he watched her sweet face become pale with emotion. "I had to, Bea…" He whispered softly, hoping he hadn't frightened the young rabbit. "I can't go on pretending I'm not attracted to you, I can't live like that. I have to kiss you, at least once, to know that what I feel for you is real… and I don't want you to be afraid. Ever."

'Why did you kiss me?!' was all Beatrice thought as her hands snuck out to his shoulders against her own will. 'I can't let you go now… not ever! Not after your proclamation of affection!' With that, she pulled his shoulders closer to herself, and kissed him again, lips playing the same game that his had. She hated doing it, she loved the act. She was torn between her absolute hatred for becoming someone of her own kind, and dousing herself in the emotions and sensation that made her cry with delight.

"Bea?" Richard asked questioningly, pulling back from her kiss. She looked up as his eyes searched her own for an answer of any kind. All he found was passion and attraction, things he'd only _dreamt_ about seeing. "Bea, are you sure you want to kiss me? Is this what you want?"

"I don't know what I want," Beatrice whispered, her voice filled with a strange, pleading cry. "But, please, Richard… right now, I just… I just want to see what there is between us. And if it's worth breaking my fear for."

She leaned up, exposing her soft, full lips to his own. Richard wasted no time and leaned down to kiss her again, this time more heated than the last. His arms snaked tightly around her waist, feeling the wild curves some god had bestowed upon her.

"Bea…" Richard whispered as he pushed her small body gently against the door frame, and his emotions took over his actions.

'Oh, please… Richard…' Beatrice thought as his hand slowly crept to neck, and his fingers weaved into her hair passionately. 'Please don't stop.'

His lips caressed her skin gently, feeling the silk that was stretched across her frame of being. She was a living goddess to him, no matter how cliché the saying may be… she was one. And he was blessed to have her in his life.

_Please Note: it will become sort of lime-y for a few paragraphs… just to let you know. Please don't be afraid… this is here for a reason (and not just perverted ones)._

Richard pulled away slowly and looked into her eyes, looking for permission to go any further than innocent kisses. "I don't want to violate you…" He whispered gently.

Beatrice watched him for a moment before she pulled free from his embrace, and backed into her room. Her dark eyes beckoned for him to follow, which he did, closing the door as he entered the sparse apartment, so similar to his own.

'I have desires like a demon,' Beatrice thought finally as he followed her inside, eyes showing the same heat her did. 'But, I have desires like a human… and whether I want to admit it or not… those desires should be fulfilled.'

She opened her arms and before long Richard found his way into them, kissing her gently but passionately. His lips drank from her mouth, drugging himself on everything she held within her. She was beauty uncontained; physical peace; she was…

"Bea…" He moaned softly, before pressing his lips back to hers. His tongue begged for entrance into her sacred temple, and he rejoiced when it was received. Their kissed grew in heat and passion as Richard led them to Beatrice's bed. Pushing back the curtain and breaking their embrace, he laid the dark woman down on the soft bed, crawling up over her.

"I've dreamt of this…" Richard whispered as his hands slipped under her top to caress her smooth, soft stomach.

"So have I," Beatrice admitted sheepishly as his strong hands slunk further up her shirt. "The day I met you… I knew there was something about you I never wanted to forget… oh, Richard!" His hands had brushed over her well-sculpted chest, earning an eager cry and an arched back.

"You're so beautiful…" He leaned down and kissed her deeply, letting his knee slide in to separate Beatrice's shapely legs. She moaned in exception as Richard tested the weight of his strong form on top of her delicate one, and he was pleased to discover her approval. Breaking the kiss for a moment, he removed her top with ease, exposing her to the cool air in the drafty apartment. He leaned down to kiss her again-

RING!

"What the-?"

Both Richard and Beatrice broke their kiss and looked over at the phone sitting on her table, disrupting their moment of sweetness. She groaned angrily, but stayed in her current position, and then pulled the curtains tighter around them. Eventually the voice-mail would kick in.

"Forget about it…" She whispered, her hands sliding around Richard's neck. "It's just me here…" She gave him a sultry smile, which he couldn't refuse in any way.

RING!

"Damnit!" Richard sat up and grabbed his own cell phone from his back pocket, ready to curse whatever devil was disturbing his peace with the dark goddess.

"What?" He asked sharply as the phone flipped open and answered the call.

"You're late. My sensors say that the R-Cycle hasn't left your apartment building yet, or even been pulled out of camouflage mode." Bruce's voice was the most unwelcoming it had ever been, and Richard's attitude wasn't helping the situation either.

"Look, I'm a little busy right now…" he seethed angrily, his eyes drifting down to Beatrice, who's fingers were working their way toward Richard's waist. The smile on her lips exposed every detail of her plan, and made his knees weak with desire.

"Well, you better become un-busy!" Bruce snapped back. "You are supposed to be here in half an hour. Get your ass in gear and get over here, we've got a lot of ground to cover in just a few short days… and I've got a bone to pick with you about a picture I was given." His voice had turned very cold and dark, making Richard nervous about what he could have in his possession.

"What is it?" He asked, trying to keep his cool. It was very hard with Beatrice tracing the elastic to his boxers, and Bruce's voice becoming icier and icier.

"A nice little lip-lock with an alien dressed in blue."

"Shit." Richard stood up instantly, hoping he wasn't disappointing the girl on the floor too much. "I'll be right there." He snapped the phone shut, and looked down at Beatrice, who was redressing herself with a scowl placed firmly on her lips, and looking extremely put out.

"I'm sorry, Bea…" he helped her up, then pulled her close to him, brushing the misplaced hair out of her eyes and wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. "I've got to get going… otherwise I'm going to be beaten to high heavens." He leaned down and kissed her sweetly. "Can we continue this when I return, babe?"

Beatrice's face suddenly flushed. "Babe?" She asked, looking at him incredulously, with shock and anger mounted firmly on her face. No one called her such a derogatory term and got away with it! She wasn't sure if she should knee him in his balls, or let him explain himself… and _then_ knee him in the balls.

"Darling? Sweetheart? Cutie? Boo? Precious? Girlfriend? Come on, Bea, you don't think I'd do that with just _anyone_?" He pushed her hair over her shoulders and tilted her chin up to face him, his eyes showing nothing but sincerity, and making Beatrice's insides melt. "That is… if you _want_ to be my girlfriend. I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want." He looked at her innocently, hoping her answer would be the one he wanted.

"Tell you what…" Beatrice said slyly, draping her arms loosely around his neck. "You show me a good time when you return, and I will _gladly_ be your girlfriend."

"I can handle that…" Richard chuckled slightly, then leaned down and kissed her gently. "I'll see you when I get back then?" He asked as he pulled away. Beatrice nodded and kissed him one last time.

"I'll be waiting for you." she let her arms fall to her sides and looked up at him sadly, before leading him to her door. "You'll only be gone for a few days, right?"

"Yeah," Richard said softly, reaching in his pocket for his door key. He placed it into her hand, then kissed her on the cheek. "I'll call you when I get there, okay?"

Beatrice's face flushed slightly and she nodded, not sure what to do now that she had a boyfriend. Back on Azarath she was considered a complete and utter freak, no one would even _look_ at her, let alone initiating a relationship. She never had a romantic entanglement of any kind, and she _really_ hoped she was doing this whole thing right. Hopefully, Richard would understand if she wasn't.

"Bye." With that he quickly tramped down the rickety stairs, knowing his ass was going to be in flames if he was even later than what he was going to be.

Beatrice watched him go, clutching tightly to his apartment key and feeling a black hole erupt in her stomach. What had she done? What sequence of events had led her into this situation… she was suddenly deeply confused as she closed the door and flopped back down on her mattress.

'What just happened?' she asked herself. Her eyes were unable to focus on anything, and her heart and head couldn't stop pounding.

Her human half wanted to chase after him and kiss him one last time, after all he _was_ now her boyfriend. That half of her was rejoicing in the love she found here on earth, telling her she should be happy that some one loved her for who she was.

Her demon half, on the other hand, was going crazy with anger. That half of her was telling her she was weak, stupid, and foolish for having feelings for someone who wasn't her own kind. Lust and desire were emotions that were completely acceptable, but _love_ for a pure _human_ was despicable and disgusting.

"What am I doing!?" She cried, reaching up to strangle her pillow in an embrace. "I've got a mission here on earth… I just _can't_ go gallivanting off on some romantic spree! I've got more important things to worry about!"

Beatrice felt strange, her stomach twisting in odd knots of denial and frustration and lack of sleep and food. Everything was making her sick and irritated; she felt like she would explode and any moment. She was falling for Richard, everything about him made her feel crazy and wonderful at the same time.

'Screw Robin! Screw my demon half!' Beatrice thought with a sudden passion. 'I love Richard, so what!? It doesn't matter anymore, because I'm his girlfriend and I like it!' She smiled slightly to herself, but a sense of false security wrapped around her. Something was telling her not to fall for Richard, that it would only bring more tears and frustration. It was probably her damned demon side.

'I hate being a half-ling…' she grumbled to herself, before shoving her head into her mattress and pulling her pillow over her head. 'But… I have to admit… having him touch me like that…' she sighed sweetly, her eyes closing in a sense of serenity. 'It was… _wonderful_.'

- - -

I'm not sure if I understand what I just wrote! If you do… KUDOS FOR YOU! It was really early in the morning when I started writing this… so I don't think I was in my right mind when I wrote it. But I think the whole point of this chapter was to:

A) Show Bea's struggle between her love for Robin and Richard

B) Have Bea and Richard start dating

C) Show Bea's inner struggle of being half-demon

D) Foreshadow the event of finding out Richard's other identity

So… I _think_ that's what I was going for. Anyway… Well, I hope you liked it and have a great NEW YEAR!

… I need some sleep _really_ bad.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Solidarity?**

Chapter Seven

_January 1, 2005_

_- - -_

Bruce's expression was less than inviting as the young man walked into his study at Wayne Manor. The older man looked angry, irritated, disappointed, ready to kill… all in all, he looked about as pissed off as all hell. If Richard didn't know better he would have sworn that there was hell's fire burning in his eyes.  
"Have a seat, Dick. We need to talk." Bruce motioned sharply toward a chair, in which Richard soon found himself sitting, waiting for his punishment.  
"So?" Bruce leaned back into his chair and stared icily at the younger man. "How do you explain yourself?"

Although pure anger and frustration burned in his elder's eyes, the younger man couldn't feel bad about what he had done. True, he had broken his word to steer clear of the strange, alien girl, and done the unspeakable of kissing her _passionately_. But, it wasn't as if Bruce hadn't done the same thing in his youth. He too had fallen to temptation once long ago.

"I can't." Richard responded after a long, steely pause that filled the room to the ceiling. "I don't know what came over me, Bruce, okay? It was like I couldn't resist her; no matter how hard I tried. She was there; she was beautiful; she was forbidden-"

"Exactly!" Bruce snapped, cutting his old counterpart off, eyes still burning with the angry fire of before. "She was _forbidden_. I _told_ you to stay away from her. I _told_ you she was dangerous. But, you didn't listen to me! Your raging, teenage hormones got the better of you!"

Richard snapped. He couldn't take it anymore; not from Bruce, not from anybody. He stood up, slammed his palms on Bruce's desk, and stared him sharply in the eyes, eyes never leaving his elder's face. He suddenly felt as if his caretaker was suddenly being the definition of 'hypocrite'. "It's not like _you_ haven't fallen to temptation before, _Batman_. Need I remind you of Poison Ivy?" Richard hissed coldly, gaze never wavering.

Bruce became very quiet after that statement. The air was almost tangible as the two alpha-males began one of their famed staring contests that could go on for hours at a time. Finally, after a few long, hard minutes, the elder of the two turned away quietly his face suddenly sullen.

"You have a point, Dick," Bruce said finally, "But that doesn't make it _right_. I don't want you to make the same mistake I made…" he looked back up at his 'son'. "I want you to be far stronger than I ever was."

"That's damn near impossible, Bruce, and you know it. I've never met a man who could keep his mind from sexual thoughts for so long…" Richard let a thin smile peel its way across his lips as he sat back down in the deep, plush chair.

"I don't know whether I should be insulted or say thank you." Bruce smiled in return, then leaned back into his chair, feeling exhaustion sweep over him yet again. As if raising a younger version of himself wasn't hard enough, crime was continually becoming worse and worse in Gotham. As sad and depressing as the thought may be, it wouldn't be much longer before Batman would need a replacement, or a new, more powerful counterpart.

"Nightwing…" He whispered, looking at Richard carefully.

"What was that?" Richard asked, looking blankly at his old friend.

"Nothing," Bruce said, another small smile appearing on his lips. "So… you were busy doing _what_ when I called?" The subject was abruptly changed as the color of Richard's face changed to a burning shade of crimson.

"Ah… I was with my – ahem – girlfriend." Richard's gaze fell to the ornate rug at his feet, as if suddenly mystified by its intricate designs. He knew that having a girlfriend wasn't _forbidden_, but it _definitely_ wasn't recommended by Bruce. A girlfriend meant not only giving up a lot of your time to that 'one person', but it also meant putting your identity at risk. To have a girlfriend as a superhero was something very, _very_ dangerous, and never to be taken lightly.

"Richard…" Bruce said in a warning tone, looking his 'son' in his eyes.

"Bruce! I'll be nineteen this year! I've never _had_ a steady girlfriend. I just want to try a _real _relationship… at least once." Richard abruptly stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the impeccable, frozen grounds and wishing he was out there, instead of trapped within Bruce's study.

"You have the ability to make love to whatever woman you want, Batman. I have that same ability… both you and I have taken advantage of it…" he turned around and looked Bruce in the eyes with pure sincerity. "I don't want a life like that. I want to see if I can truly love unconditionally."

"It's still dangerous, Dick. You're putting everything at risk by loving this girl… you're putting _her_ at risk."

Richard looked out the window and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He didn't want to be selfish, he didn't _want_ to put her in danger, but he wanted to love her. As if she was just another girl… as if he was just a normal, teenage boy. "I know…"

"You know what will happen if she finds out who you are?" Bruce asked sternly, standing up and approaching Richard. The younger one never moved, and his eyes were still locked on the gardens below.

"Her memory will be erased… I know," Richard whispered, eyes sliding shut as he thought about that frightening possibility.

"And are you prepared to risk that?"

"Yes."

There was a sharp intake of breath, followed by a long, deep sigh. Bruce couldn't fight with Richard when his mind was set on something, especially something concerning the emotion of _love_. His own, true parents had strong feelings on love and family, and Bruce could only surmise that those feelings had been passed into their son. "Then, I wish the two of you the best of luck, Dick."

"Thank you, Bruce." Richard turned and looked at his 'father', before wrapping his arms around him in a well needed hug.

- - -

The Bat-Cave felt colder and darker than usual as the two men walked down the steps. The air was cold and wet from the recent snowfall, and made the cave feel enclosed, foreboding, and almost… evil. That didn't darken the spirits of the two chatting men. Their steps were light, as if preparing for something more important than what they were doing today.

"So? What should I do… you know, for our first night?" Richard asked a little sheepishly, as they reached the floor of the dark cavern. Bruce looked mildly surprised, then thought about his question for a moment.

"A nice dinner, delivered to your apartment – I'll make arrangements for that; a bottle of fine wine – you can have one from my storeroom; and… and a bouquet of flowers, but not roses. If she is as 'anti-sheep' as you say she is, your girlfriend will be very disgusted by roses."

The older man thought for a moment as he sat in front of a computer monitor. "I suggest starburst lilies… they're very pretty, hardy, and smell beautiful. I'll make a few calls and can have them delivered just an hour before you return. That'll definitely get her fired up… oh, and I'll order you new linens for your bed. No woman, no matter how much they love you, Dick, will _never_ enjoy making love on decade old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sheets."

"Wow…" Richard chuckled, as he entered his password into the system. "You're pretty good at this whole romance thing."

"Come on, Dick." Bruce flashed him a brilliant smile that seemed to light up the whole cave. "I'm _Batman_ and _Bruce Wayne_ what woman wouldn't want to have me?"

"Don't get full of yourself or anything," Richard laughed, rolling his eyes. He typed a few things into the system, and files and files of evidence began to appear. After a few more minutes of silence, furious typing, and research, he spoke again. "Am I coming back next weekend as well?"

"It'd be appreciated. I'd ask Garfield, but he's off trying to get another job…" Bruce sighed deeply, letting his nimble fingers finally get some exercise on the brightly colored keyboard. "Whatever it was that attacked him, put a nice, hefty hole in the roof of that auditorium. His job was canceled indefinitely."

"I know," Richard said calmly, eyes scanning the monitor in front of him. "Beatrice was the assistant stage manager for the play."

"Oh? And your neighbor?" Bruce asked, with mild surprise.

"Yes… does this look like anything?" Richard pointed to his screen, but his friend just shook his head.

"No… that's old data. I just keep it there for reference." He turned back to his own computer and began searching. There was another pause, and then Bruce turned to his old counterpart. "You said it moved like a shadow made of… sand?"

"Mm-hm…" Richard's eyes never left his monitor, but Bruce had gotten to his feet and started pacing around the dark, cold hall of the Bat-Cave, deep in thought.

"I'm wondering… could it be millions of nanobots?"

Richard's fingers hovered over the keys, as if suddenly paralyzed by the thought of nanobots. He slowly turned around to face his companion, a look of complete fear and hopelessness tracing his features. "I really hope that isn't the case. The only person who could even _hope_ to have that kind of technology is…"

"Deathstroke." The air in the cave suddenly turned bone-chillingly cold as Bruce spoke the curséd name.

"Slade…" Richard suddenly snapped to his feet and took to pacing the dark cave with his elder. If what they both were suspecting turned out to be true, then their foe was far greater than either of them could hope to defeat. He could easily take down the both of them in one battle. It took the _whole_ Justice League to bring him to his knees.

"I thought the Justice League took care of him years ago," Richard said carefully, sitting back down at the master computer, and typing furiously again. He had to find the file and see what Deathstroke was truly capable of.

"We locked him away," Bruce replied, his brow furrowing deeply as he looked at his own monitor and pulled up Deathstroke's permanent file, trying to find anything of use. "But after the JLA disbanded, we never kept an extremely careful watch on our old foes… now I'm beginning to deeply regret that." There was a pause as his worried, tired eyes quickly scanned the written file in front of him. "If I remember correctly, Deathstroke was contained in the penitentiary just outside of the city the Green Lantern was watching… but he retired years ago and faded far away, Dick."

"Are you telling me there's no one we can turn to?" Richard asked, his face going pale with a mixture between fear and anger. What was there to do, if the JLA had disbanded and most of them retired? There was little Batman could do to fight this sudden evil… and even littler that Robin could do. They were at an impasse… with no one to turn to, and nothing they could do… what was going to happen to them? To the city? To the world?

Richard rubbed his temples furiously, trying to ward off a headache that was beginning to press its sharp, spindly legs against the sides of his mind. "Do you have any idea of what he would want… or why he would even attack us?"

"Not really…" Bruce said slowly, turning away from his monitor. He looked carefully at his counterpart, hoping his next speculation wouldn't frighten him too much. "Unless the nanobots are monitoring you and the others, trying to gather information."

Richard shook his head and let it fall into his hands at this new idea. "Which is more frightening than anything else I could ever think of. How could those nanobots do that though? They're far too small for sensors... too small for a master computer."

"Blood." Bruce said suddenly and coldly, as if the thought of all their secrets getting out would destroy the world as they knew it. "Think about it, Dick. The shadow attacked Victor, Garfield, and Kori… and it drew blood each time… They must draw blood and take it back to Deathstroke to be analyzed."

"But then _why_ did it attack Bea? She's just a civilian!" Richard pounded his fist on the desk, strangely enjoying the pain that spread through his arm. This was supposed to be an easy case! Some idiot was supposed to be looking around with cheap magic! Now _Deathstroke_ had gotten loose and was on the prowl for the young superheroes.

"She's your neighbor, Dick… maybe the gathering of nanobots got confused…" Bruce said, speaking softly and placing his hand on Richard's shoulder.

Richard felt strange suddenly, as if he was going to be sick from all this speculation. Victor, Kori, Garfield… even _Bea_ had all been attacked, but _why_? None of it was making any sense to him. If Deathstroke was preparing for an attack, why hadn't other things happened? Why were the shadows so apt to leave after a few short attacks? Why did they travel by _drain_? There were so many questions that were completely unanswered.

"Bruce, what am I going to do? This is too much for me to handle, and I know none of the others could handle it on their own either." The younger male sighed and pulled away from his computer. "It's just _too much_."

"Take a break, Richard. Go rest for awhile; call your girlfriend… but, _rest._" Bruce said, reaching over and turning off the computer, knowing that his counterpart had a tendency to obsess over something like this. "And then tomorrow, go home and do some detective work. We're going to need every little bit of information you can some up with." He looked firmly at his 'son', and then pulled him up from his seat.

"I guess you're right…" Richard started for the stairs, feeling as if all of this information had drained him completely of any energy. He stumbled up the steps, his limbs moving as if through lead. "I'm going to take a nap… and think about this later."

"That's a good idea, Dick," Bruce said, as they entered the lavishly decorate foyer. "And I'll make those arrangements for you, alright?"

Richard turned to his older friend, her face a little brighter. "Thanks, Bruce." With that the young man tramped up the stairs, feeling far better at the prospect of being home soon… home and with Beatrice.

- - -

'Just my freaking luck!' Robin thought sourly as the masked hero bounded across rooftops, trying to catch a band of jewelry burglars. 'I'm not even back in town for twenty minutes and I have to deal with _this!_ I don't even get to see Beatrice first!'

He jumped onto another rooftop, surprised as the burglars suddenly stopped. Looking up, he understood why. There, on the other side of the roof, floated Raven, her hood pulled over her face and her arms poised for attack. 'This day just _could not_ get any worse!' He thought as his eyes rolled at the new sight.

"GAAAAAHHH!" The idiot _not_ holding the bag filled with jewelry charged forward, a knife raised over his head.

Raven slid out of the way just in time to save her neck, but not fast enough to save a rather large lock of her dark, purple hair. She blinked at the idiot, then at the handful of hair on the ground.

"You _imbecile!_" She cried, throwing up her hand and smacking the man across his face, leaving a bright, red hand print. "You just messed up my hair!"

The sound of police cars could be heard below the two of them, their sirens crying and wailing for the end of this pointless, time-wasting battle. Raven encased the two men in black and lowered them into the street below.

"Stupid bastards…" She hissed, once they were in captivity. The dark woman looked hopelessly at the hair on the ground, feeling her lips twitch into a frown. "Well, Damnit."

"Raven."

She straightened and looked the boy wonder in the eyes with a steely gaze. "Robin." There was nothing more exchanged between them, and Raven jumped off the roof, into the darkness of an alley below.

'Well… at least now I know that we _both_ can't stand each other. It'd be really sick if she reacted like Starfire would…' Robin turned to leave, but a shimmer of purple caught his eye, and he suddenly got an idea.

'I can analyze her hair… find out where she's from, what her powers are… what she _is_.' With that, Robin grabbed a few strands of her hair, and tucked them away in an evidence bag. 'I'll find out about her… she can't hide from me forever.'

He turned around and began to head home, after all… Beatrice was waiting.

- - -

OKAY! I know that was a lot of information that I just crammed into your heads, but I BEG for your forgiveness… it's all going to be important later on. I am now extremely exhausted from all this updating, and I hope you're all terribly pleased. But I have a few things to say now.

A) For all of you who are _truly_ irritated by the name Beatrice, I recommend renting the movie _Much __Ado__ About Nothing_ directed by Kenneth Brannaugh (Or something like that). He does an _amazing_ job with directing Beatrice in that movie, and if you see her, it makes total sense _why_ I would call Raven Beatrice.

B) Deathstroke is the name of Slade in the comic books. Actually his real name is Slade Wilson… bla bla bla, like you care about the history of Slade.

C) I won't be updating very fast when school start… so I just want to apologize in advance.

D) I'm starting a new humor story, because it's been a _really_ long time since I've written a completely humorous story… so here you go:

**TEEN TITANS: The Musical! **Yeah… I'm really going crazy now!

So… that's all I have to say now… well, PLEASE REVIEW! It would be much appreciated!

Lots o' Love: Xaph!


	8. Chapter Eight

**Solidarity?**

Chapter Eight

_February 19, 2005_

_-_

Pure, unadulterated morning sun streamed through the window at the end of Richard's bed, casting a holy light upon the sleeping form in his arms. Beatrice looked as lovely as ever, her hair tousled, lips slightly parted, and eyes shut as she dreamed within her lover's embrace.

He gently began to stroke her hair, which had been chopped from its glorious long locks, to a neat, sharp, shoulder-length. He had been initially shocked, but that soon wore off as Richard realized that the new hairstyle fit her wonderfully, and none of her original beauty had been altered.

It was strange though… to come home and find her hair cut to a length that reminded him of the battle with the two idiot robbers. Wasn't that length the same as the slice that had happened to Raven? Or was Richard just hallucinating from too much thinking?

No. It couldn't be. The idea of Raven and Beatrice being one in the same was a completely laughable thought. They were at opposite ends of the personality spectrum; Raven was cold and distant, and Beatrice had a friendlier take, even if it _was_ with an edge. There was no way in the burning bowels of hell that the two women were even remotely related.

…still…

Hadn't he had these same thoughts _before_?

Beatrice shifted softly in her sleep and snuggled closer to Richard, making him smile slightly. Last night had been more than he had ever dreamed. Beatrice was shy and innocent, but those feelings soon gave way to passion. She fit into his hands and body as if she were made for him, as if she were another half of his being. The night had been far more than sex. There was so much that he couldn't describe, or understand; but one thing was for sure, Richard was beginning to realize that he truly _loved_ Beatrice. That thought didn't really bother him as much as he thought it would. In fact, he was ready to welcome it with open arms.

The body in his arms shifted again, then turned her tired face up to meet his. Long eyelashes lazily opened to unveil bright, dark eyes. "Morning…" She muttered gently, before settling her head back on his chest. "How long have you been up?" Her voice was deep and husky, and reverberated sexily on his skin. It made him want to take her again and again… never sharing her with anyone else.

"Not too long," He combed his fingers through her short hair, still unable to believe the softness of it. "I didn't want to wake you… you looked so _precious_ sleeping." He teased gently, watching as her face scrunched up in irritation.

"Shut up," she responded half-heartedly, "before I'm forced to hurt you." After a moment, she sat up and stretched her limbs, trying to remove the unwanted effects of sleep from her system. Richard could only lay there and watch as the bright sun shone upon her nude form, illuminating her body in a golden halo. She was perfect in every way; even her imperfections were perfect, because they were part of _her_. Her shoulders were slender and narrow, her breasts were round and generous, her hips protruded sexily from her small waist… she was a divine being.

"What are you staring at?" She asked defensively, taking the sheet and wrapping it around her body. He was staring at her with a strange look in his eye, something she had never seen before, but something that wasn't exactly _unwelcome_.

"Your perfections…" He said firmly, reaching out and stripping the obstructing sheet away from her body. "So, don't cover it up… I like looking at you."

Beatrice's face flushed instantly as her body was exposed to his wandering eyes. She didn't know why she was so embarrassed, he had seen much more of her last night. Finally, she looked away, redirecting her attention to the clock beside his bed.

"Oh shit!" she cried as her gaze landed on the time. "I've gotta leave for class!" Unfortunately, Beatrice soon discovered she was trapped; with a wall to her right, a being to her left, a window at her feet, and a headboard at her head, she had no where to escape. She tried crawling over the form on the other side of the bed, but he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to his chest.

"Richard…" She pleaded, biting her bottom lip. "Please… I've really got to go to class… Please let me go."

"You don't have to go _everyday_, Bea. You could stay here with me all day… just the two of us." He passed a sultry look her way, and it took all of her strength to say no.

"I can't stay, Richard… I've got to get to class today so I can get my new internship." She wiggled a little, to break free of his arms, but was dismayed at the reaction she was stirring within him. "Let me go."

Richard sighed deeply and released her waist. "Alright… but we better continue this when you get back," He grumbled sourly, and then turned to watch her dress.

Beatrice threw on her old, ratted jeans and black sweatshirt. She turned and looked at the nude man lying on the bed, her cheeks turning a crimson color as she did so. After a moment, a small, shy smile appeared on her lips. "I _guess_ I'll agree to that," She teased, leaning over and kissing him gently. "I'll be back between five and six, okay?"

"Mm-hm…" he said, sitting up and wrapping his arms around her waist. He pulled her close to him, so that he could lay his head on her stomach for a moment. He didn't like her not being with him, and he wasn't sure why. All he knew is that his heart ached whenever she wasn't within his reach. "I'll miss you," He whispered, turning to look up at her.

"Well, good… then the sex should be great when I return," she teased gently, then leaned down and kissed him again.

Richard smiled and let her go. "I'll see you later tonight then."

"Bye!" She flashed him a rare smile, and then slipped out his doorway.

Richard lay there for a moment, running his hand over the splotch of fading warmth where she once lay. He felt strange, as if his soul was no longer _his_ soul, but part of someone else's. He felt complete…

'God,' he thought as he pushed off the covers and stood up, 'that is _so_ cliché.' He quickly dressed and picked up the apartment, trying not to let his mind wander too much. It was slightly disheartening to him to know that his whole being was basically held in the hands of a very pretty gothic girl, who lived next door. He was no longer himself anymore, he was a lover to someone far more sensual than he was.

After he showered and dressed, Richard was ready to head off to Wayne Manor. He had some snooping to do concerning a certain stuck-up superheroine who happened to be stealing the glory in his end of the city. As he grabbed his keys, a shift in light caused a shimmer of purple on his pillow.

"That's Bea's hair…" Richard whispered slightly, smiling. 'She _was_ pretty closed-mouthed last night, I _guess_ it would hurt if I at least found out a little more about her. Some how I'm having trouble believing she's from some tiny, po-dunk mountain town in Siberia.' He snatched up another evidence bag and dropped a few lavender hairs into it. He paused for a moment and looked at the few hairs, feeling a little like he was betraying her trust. 'Oh well, I just hope she doesn't find out, she'll shoot me.'

With his evidence bags in tow, Richard stepped outside his apartment, and took the first steps to visit Wayne Manor.

-

"You know," Bruce said conversationally as he watched Richard scan the few, long, lavender hairs he pulled from a bag, "you're not being very sporting about this. What happened to the good, old-fashioned days when two superheroes duked it out to get information? Kids just have too much technology these days…" He shook his head and sighed in mock-frustration.

"I'd be careful there, Bruce," Richard responded, eyes never faltering from the computer screen. "You could start sounding like an old man."

Bruce made a sound of indigence as he defensively crossed his arms over his chest. "If I didn't like you enough, you would be dead by now." He walked up behind the younger boy, eyes locking on the monitor in front of both of them. "In all seriousness, Richard… what _did_ you find out?"

"She's half demon." Richard finally turned and looked at his friend, steady eyes never betraying his skipping heart. She was no ordinary person, she was a _demon_; someone who could control black magic whenever she felt it necessary. The idea frightened him deeply, this was no _ordinary_ superhero he was dealing with; this was something far more powerful, and chillingly dark.

"Her DNA is unstable because of obscure union between demon and human, that's why her powers are so amazing." Richard turned back to the monitor and saved her file to the master computer. "They're kind of like an odd side effect… you know, kinda like viagra."

Bruce snorted inelegantly, a smile passing over his lips. "Like _what_?"

Richard grinned slyly as his eyes caught Bruce's. "Well, viagra was originally used as a blood-thinner, it wasn't until after awhile that the scientists discovered that there were _other_ side-effects."

"I don't know if I would enjoy being compared to viagra if I was a girl." Bruce slid into a chair and laughed slightly. Richard just shrugged as he disposed of all of Raven's hairs, making sure nothing fell into the wrong hands.

"I'm not comparing her, I'm using it as an analogy." He cleared the screen and very carefully placed Beatrice's own hairs on the scanning pad.

There was a moment of silence before Bruce decided he should give some advice. "Dick, don't you think it's a violation of trust for you to be scanning Beatrice's hair? If there's something she's not telling you, there's probably a reason why."

"She kept leading me in circles yesterday, Bruce," Richard responded calmly, his fingers flying over the keypad. "It's not that I don't trust her, but every question that I asked about her heritage was turned back toward me. She completely avoided the subject." He turned back to Bruce and shrugged slightly, as if to say he was at wits-end, and had no where else to turn. "Besides, I'm having trouble believing she's from a range of mountains in Siberia."

His explanation, however, was lost on Bruce. The older man's bewildered eyes were glued to the screen behind his companion, and his mouth was open slightly in shock. There was a slow, heavy pause before he dare said anything. Finally, he turned to his companion carefully. "Hey, Dick… did you dispose of _all_ of Raven's hair?"

"Yeah." Richard was busy looked for the pen he dropped under the console.

Bruce swallowed a lump that had lodged its self in his throat. This was not good. "And you're positive you didn't mix up the hairs?"

"Yeah, why?" Richard stared at his friend a little oddly before he sat up and turned around to stare at the screen. In that very instant, he felt as though his gut had been punched and all the air emptied from his lungs. His body went cold and all of his brain cells seemed to shut down automatically. What was flashing on the screen could _not_ have been true… it couldn't!

"Exact Match…" Bruce murmured as he read the screen aloud. "Raven."

"No…" Richard whispered, pulling back from the screen. What had just happened? There _had_ to be a reasonable, _logical_ explanation as to _why_ the monitor said what it did. "No, that can't be right! There _has_ to be a mistake!" He rushed forward to clear the screen and try again.

Bruce quickly snapped up and grabbed his arm. "Look at the screen, Dick. _Look_… there's no mistaking that! Your _lover_ is the girl you've been trying to avoid for the past few weeks. She's _Raven_." He hadn't meant the words to sound like venom, but they burned anyway. It was a cruel joke that Fate had played on them; Richard was head-over-heels in love with a superheroine… and a _demon_ no less. This was not good, not good at _all._

"It all makes sense now," Bruce began to pace, eyes never leaving the screen and Richard. "Why she was attacked… her hair… why she was suddenly at the theater, everything you told me, Dick. It all makes sense. She _is_ Raven… Beatrice is Raven. I'm just _mad_ we didn't see it before."

"_We_?" Richard hissed as he snapped around to stare at the pacing Bruce. His body felt cold and hot; wet and dry; infuriated and glad… he felt everything at once. Fury so hot he felt he would melt, and gladness so strong he wanted to burst out laughing. He loved Beatrice, he was attracted sexually to Raven… and he could have them both. But not without a price… he _had_ to tell her the truth about him.

"Everything is going to turn be fine…" Bruce ventured carefully. He could see that his friend looked just about ready to check into a loony-bin. He was either going to cry, yell, or laugh; Bruce wasn't exactly sure which.

"That doesn't make it okay!" Richard suddenly whirled on his companion, eyes blazing with a sudden fury. Apparently he decided that _anger_ was the best way to let his emotions escape. "She kept it from me! She kept _everything_ from me!" He was suddenly feeling very betrayed and forlorn, how had this _happened_?

"Need I remind you that _you_ kept everything from _her_." Bruce raised an accusing eyebrow, and stopped pacing. "I don't want to call you a hypocrite, Dick."

"Then _don't_," Richard bit out between clenched teeth. He snatched his keys and started up the stairs, every step shaking the ground he walked on. He felt confused and disoriented, as if he didn't know right from left and up from down. Everything blended together to make one sickening blur of color and feeling. "I'm going home… I have to talk to Bea about this."

Bruce slid in between his ward and the exit, hoping he could be a voice of reason to his 'son'. He looked angry, frustrated, betrayed, but most of all, he looked _pissed-off_. "Be _careful_ about this, Dick. One wrong move and you can not only screw up your relationship, but you could unleash her powers. I recommend that you go about this delicately… and by delicately I mean with gentleness… and by that I mean-" Richard cut his babbling off quickly.

"What am I supposed to do, Bruce? Give her a mug of hot chocolate and tell her everything's going to be okay because I still love her and that's all that matters?" His entire being seethed with sudden burning anger and frustration.

"_EXACTLY!_" Bruce squared his broad shoulders and glared heatedly at the young man. Obviously he wasn't getting through to the dolt of a boy. "You _love_ her, Dick. Don't think that I haven't noticed, because I have. There is a lot going on here that you have to be careful about… including your feelings. So what she didn't tell you that she was a superhero? That doesn't change her feelings towards you. But if you say one wrong, dumb-ass word to her, you can kiss everything you've found good-bye."

Richard took a deep breath before shoving a hand trough his hair. "Alright… I'll go about it _your_ way…"

"You'll like my 'way'," Bruce snapped before grabbing the younger boy by the shoulders and shoving him out the door. "You'll get to keep Beatrice." He watched as Richard rushed through the lawn to his motorcycle, and waited until he pulled away.

"At least…" he added after the dust had settled, "I _hope_ you get to keep her."

-

Okay… so, I _know_ it's REALLY late, and REALLY crappy, but I was really busy and then I had writer's block and all sorts of things were just going wrong. But, chaptereight is finally finished and here for your enjoyment… or so I hope. Anyways, PLEASE review…. I'll try my darndest to get chapter eight out ASAP!

Love: Xaph!

Please love me! I love you!


	9. Chapter Nine

**Solidarity?**

Chapter Nine

_March 4, 2005_

(MOO)

"Oh, Richard?" Beatrice looked up as he walked through the door. Richard didn't blink, didn't flinch, or even smile. He just stood in his doorway and watched her with his strong, unwavering, and slightly shocked gaze. She was seated at his kitchen table, a sheet of paper in her hand… and silent tears streaming down her face.

That was what stuck him down the most. Beatrice never cried.

"Bea…" He asked after a while, approaching the girl carefully. Who knew what could happen in her current state? After all, Richard _had_ just discovered she was part demon.

"What's wrong…?" Richard couldn't help himself; although he was angry an, frustrated and thoroughly _pissed off_, seeing Beatrice in tears like that made his chest tighten painfully. He never wanted her to feel any sort of sadness or hurt. He wanted her to be happy and content; to smile at him and laugh, not to sit in the darkness and cry.

"I went to class today…" She responded carefully, after taking in a very slow, shaky breath. "But my tuition was terminated because I haven't been able to pay since I lost that last internship." She turned and looked out the window, new tears inching into her vision. "I can't pay my tuition without my internships… and I can't get my internships without my schooling…" Beatrice let her head fall into her arms as more tears fell down her face. "I have no job and no school… Richard, what am I going to do?"

Richard didn't even hesitate. His arms went around her instantly, and his hold on her waist tight and comforting in every way. "Bea…" he whispered, gathering her into his lap. He nuzzled his face into her hair as her body shook with even more silent tears.

His anger was quickly beginning to fade as he continued to cradle this slight woman. He had felt so infuriated at the fact that Beatrice had been hiding secrets from him, that he never really thought about her like a normal person. Yes, she was a superheroine and his lover… but she was just trying to make it like everyone else on this sorry planet. This _must_ have been hard for her; there was no doubt about it.

"Bea…" Richard cooed softly into her ear, "it's okay. Everything will work out; _we'll_ work it out _together_." He kissed the top of her head, trying very hard to calm her down into reason. Beatrice was obviously very disturbed by this news, and Richard wanted to do everything in his power to make it alright. It wasn't fair for her to suffer.

She took another, slow shaky breath, burying her face deeper into his warm chest. She found comfort in his arms, as strange as it may seem to her; she found a sense of completion in his embrace. "Thank you, Richard… for everything," She murmured, her voice vibrating against his breastbone.

"Bea… I…" Richard stopped speaking after a struggled moment, and settled for softly stroking her hair in silence. He was going to say he loved her, and that he wanted her to stay with him, but he couldn't. He couldn't tell her that, not after she had confessed she was afraid of falling in love with him. It would complicate things far too much… and Richard wasn't sure if he was ready to lose Beatrice over a stupid thing like complication.

"Richard… what's this?"

There was a heavy pause as Richard turned to look into Beatrice's hand, and found her delicate fingers twisted around the exotic, blue fabric of the mask. It was Raven's mask. _Her_ mask. And it had come loose from his coat pocket.

There was a long, heavy pause as Beatrice began to realize _exactly_ what that scrap of intricately weaved material was. "Where did you get this?" she stood up quickly and pulled away from his warm embrace, her gaze turning heavy and cold in a split second. It always amazed him how she was able to shift moods so completely and so quickly… and it made him fear for his life.

"Bea, I-"

"_Where_ did you get _this_?" She repeated icily, pulling farther away from him.

"You dropped it…" He paused for a moment, and watched as the color drain from her face the instant he said _the_ word. It was the one word Beatrice was most afraid of.

"Raven."

She stood there, face as pale as the snow falling outside, eyes wide and bright like a winter's moon… She watched him carefully, trying to decipher his every move, every twitch, _everything._ And then it hit her. _Hard._

"Robin…" She whispered softly, her eyes going wider and her face suddenly burning a bright red. She watched him with slight wonder and astonishment, and there was a beautifully blissful moment when the world was silent and Beatrice was in awe at what had transpired.

And then all hell broke loose.

Beatrice jumped forward and tackled him right off the chair. The two of them went tumbling, body over body, across his dirty, old floor until she finally managed to throw her weight around enough to pin him to the floor with her body.

"YOU BASTARD!" Beatrice cried, white-hot eyes boring into the man beneath her. Her knees bit into his thighs tightly and her elbows were wedged into his collarbone placing him in an unrelenting bind. Normally, Richard would have found this particular position highly arousing, but Beatrice could truly hold her own when she really wanted to. Not to mention her hefty right hook.

"How long have you known? Who have you told?" She cried, spurting out harsh, accusing questions at the man beneath her. Beatrice couldn't help herself; she felt nothing but utter fury and contempt towards him. He had discovered her deepest, darkest secret, and undoubtedly exploited her already to one of his "friends"; those other, pathetic excuses for superheroes. Her entire existence was now in jeopardy because of him. Because of a stupid, pompous, overbearing, powerless, masked superhero. She had lost her identity to _him_.

Richard could only lay there and stare in at her in shock for a moment. This was _obviously_ not going as planned. It was _supposed_ to be a sweet little: 'I love you! I know who you are, and it's okay!' deal. That wasn't happening… at all. He watched her anger contorted face for a few more seconds before absolute anger and frustration over took him as well. In one swift, powerful movement he rolled over and pinned her to the floor just as she had done to him. He pressed his face close to hers, eyes unblinking at they dived deep within her own, sparking ones.

"I didn't tell anyone! And I just found out today, so back off Ice Princess!" he hissed quickly, grabbing the mask from her fingers. He held it in front of her face for emphasis. "I came back to tell you that I knew who you were and that everything was going to be okay, but if you're gonna be a bitch about it…" He trailed off as Beatrice's eyes suddenly flashed brighter. Perhaps he shouldn't have used that _particular_ word.

"Well, if you're gonna be a bastard!" She snapped sharply and loudly before she brought her knee up quickly to slam it firmly in between Richard's parted legs. He curled up instantly, falling from his position to the floor and glaring up at her with sudden, burning anger. Beatrice returned the gaze before she stood up and walked out of the room without another word.

"Hey! Where are you going!" Richard cried, forcing himself to his feet and slowly chasing after her. That girl could pack a _serious_ punch when she wanted to; he was certainly in pain if that was her intent. "I'm not done with you yet!"

"Well!" Beatrice whirled around to glare at him. They stood on the landing, their apartments open for all to see, and their conversation loud enough for all to hear. Neither one could even care an inkling at the moment. They were both blinded by white, hot, burning anger that welled up from some unknown depth. From some place that they never knew they had.

"I'm _finished_ with you!" She walked into her own apartment and slammed the door in his face. Unfortunately for her, it took Richard less than thirty seconds to pick the lock, and it took just a few more seconds before Beatrice was facing him again. She was _infuriated_. Everything she tried to do to avoid him was becoming futile; he had an iron will and he would not be pushed aside so easily.

"Beatrice!" Richard cried, grabbing her shoulders and giving her a slight shake. Why wasn't she even _trying_ to listen to him? It felt like he was just talking to a brick wall, and nothing he was saying was going through her brain. It didn't _matter_ that she was part demon. It didn't matter that she was Raven. All that mattered was the two of them overcoming this together.

She threw his arms off her and glared coldly as he continued to speak. "I don't want us to fight about this, it's stupid!"

"And what's stupid about it?" Beatrice hissed, crossing her arms over her chest and snapping around to glare out the window. She couldn't face him without feeling an intense, demonic urge to murder him right then and there. "What's stupid about the fact that _you_ know not only _who_ I am, but _what_ I am? It's not some trivial piece of information, it's the secret of my _soul_. It is the darkest, most vile part of me, and you know all about it." Her voice grew freezing cold and her lips pressed into a thin line. She knew he must have figured it our by now; she wasn't normal, nor would she ever be. One foot in the human world and the other foot in another world; she was only _half._ Half of one thing, and half of another… and a whole of nothing.

"Beatrice… Raven… It doesn't matter to me that you're a demon," Richard whispered, walking around her so she faced him. He looked deeply in her eyes for a moment, seeing complete pain and frustration there. She was lost, without anywhere to go; and he had been her one rock to cling too. He _really_ screwed things over this time. He had betrayed her trust, put her secrets in danger, and was jeopardizing her as a person. There was little reason for Beatrice _not_ to be angry with him.

"It matters, Richard, I can see it in your eyes. You're afraid of me." She replied softly, her eyes falling away from his gaze. She looked towards the floor before he tilted her chin up to see her beautiful eyes.

"Yes," He replied truthfully, "But I'm only afraid right now because I think that you might walk out that door and never come back. It _doesn't_ matter about 'what' you are Beatrice, because I'm in love with you… with Beatrice; with Raven; with your demon half; with your human half… Beatrice, I love you. All of you. The halves you see so plainly, and whole you have yet to discover. I _love_ you." He leaned down and kissed her quickly and deeply before she had a chance to reply. He knew the words would have struck home with her, and that's what he wanted. He wanted Beatrice to realize that he loved every miniscule part of her; that titles and powers didn't matter. His feelings remained unchanged through the whole ordeal.

"Richard…" She murmured as he pulled away from her. She felt a sudden wave of helplessness and frailty come over her. She was indebted to this man; _loved_ this man; and he was only serving to complicate things by telling her he loved her. "_Please,_ don't say that… loving me will only complicate everything." Beatrice turned away from him. She looked out the window, seeing a brick wall turning darker due to the fading light. "I'm not a person you want to love."

Richard wasn't one to give up easily. His anger and fury were quickly dwindling into cold, dark ashes, and he pulled Beatrice back within his arms. He cradled her for a moment, feeling her own frustration ebb away into nothingness. A cold, comforting silence surrounded them, and nothing was said for a few long minutes.

"I know you don't want to say it," Richard stated after the fury had fallen, "but you love me, Beatrice. I know you do, I can feel it within me every time I hold you or look at you. Please, don't turn away from me. We can make this work…" He stroked her hair for a few more minutes, feeling tension start to grow again. There was something that Beatrice had to tell him, something important.

"It's not just love I owe you, Robin. I owe you my life." Beatrice spoke bluntly, and frankly without ever turning to look at him. Her voice was quiet and shy, revealing far more of her emotions than she would have liked, but it _had_ to be said. She owed everything to Robin, to Richard. He saved her life in her greatest time of need.

Richard stilled for a moment, and then looked down at the top of her head in slight confusion. What in God's name was she talking about? He really hoped that it wasn't some bizarre, demonic ritual she was going to describe. He wasn't sure if he was ready to commit himself _that_ much just yet. "Why do you owe me your life?"

She turned her face upward and looked into his eyes deeply, trying to read all of his expressions in the dim light. "Robin," She said, calling him by his alias, "A few months ago you found a young woman in an ally way and saved her from the worst fate of rape. You took care of her and made sure she was safe…" She let the sentence drift off and snuggled close to him, suddenly feeling a sense of warm security wash over her.

"Bea… that was _you_?"

"Yes."

Richard felt a sense of complete and utter hatred for those two thugs. It cracked upon him painfully and he wanted to cry with anguish. He had nearly lost everything to evil. Pure, unadulterated, _human_ evil. He suddenly felt nauseous.

"I have to sit down…" He plopped down on her bed and stared at the floor, trying to regain his sense of self. He had nearly lost Beatrice. If he had been a few seconds late, or taken a different route home, he could have _really_ lost her; he could have never even met her.

It was odd to him suddenly. He spent his whole life protecting the weak and all that jazz, but he never had a chance to look at the faces. He never stopped to think about who he was saving and why. It was a natural impulse within him to save someone. And now, after finding out that Beatrice had been so close to demise, he couldn't help but think about _her_ face, and the faces of all the others. He saved people _because_ of their faces; because they had souls and futures.

"Robin?" Beatrice crawled on the bed next to him and lay her head in his lap. Knowing he was understanding the weight of what happened. This was no trivial matter, and it was important to both of them. "Don't be upset, I'm safe now. I'm safe now and that's all that matters. I'm safe because of you, because of what you _did_. And not only that, but if you didn't save me, I would have never been compelled to use my powers to help other people… Robin, you _saved_ me. From more than just rape."

He looked down at the beauty in his lap and let a smile split his lips as his fingers threaded through her silky hair. He watched her for a moment before he made a final decision on what to say. "I guess I did. But that doesn't mean you owe me anything, Bea… I only ask that you love me."

She felt her face flush brightly and she sat up. Her eyes locked with his and examined their depths carefully before proposing anything more to him. "Are you willing to take the evil that comes with me? I am a demon, Robin… nothing mystical and ambiguous. I am an evil being."

"Whoever told you that has obviously never kissed you," he teased gently before leaning forward and capturing her in a heated kiss. His fingers tunneled through her hair as serenity and completion filled his soul. He loved her, and nothing would change that; not demons, not humans, and nothing in between the two. He broke away for a quick moment to gaze deeply into her eyes, hoping to find his confirmation there. "I am willing to take the good with the bad, _because_ I love you."

Beatrice blushed slightly and said nothing more. She just leaned in for another, long kiss…

(MOO)

"I think…" Richard mumbled as he woke to the sound of food being tossed into a heated frying pan, "… that I should spend the night at your place more often. Your curtains keep out that stupid thing called 'dawn'."

"Is that so?" a husky, feminine voice called back to him. "You know," She stated conversationally, "you can get curtains pretty cheap at a supermarket." She couldn't help the teasing smile that spread across her lips.

"Perhaps." Richard rolled over on his stomach and pulled the covers over his bare back. "But then that defeats the whole purpose of me spending the night with you." He paused for a moment as his hands groped deftly through the covers to find no one there. Letting out a sigh of frustration he picked his face out of the pillow. "Forget breakfast and come back to bed, Bea."

A delicate snort was his initial reply. "It's nearly eleven o'clock, Richard. I _hardly_ think this qualifies as breakfast," Beatrice stated realistically. "Besides, you're going to sleep the day away if you stay in bed any longer."

"So what if I do?" He replied teasingly, with a playful smirk on his lips. "It's your fault I'm so tired. You kept me pretty damn busy last night." He felt, rather than saw, the bright red color that crept over Beatrice's face.

However, he _wasn't_ expecting a plastic spatula to come flying his way. He bolted up in bed and glared at the small space in the curtains. Growling playfully he crawled to his feet and walked out into the "kitchen". Beatrice stood next to the counter, watching him with a smug smile on her face. Richard couldn't help but feel a sort of pride at watching her stand there, dressed in nothing but his shirt and her underwear. She watched him playfully as he approached her with the projectile she flung at him.

"I think you dropped this," he said, handing her the spatula.

"Nice to know you're awake." She smiled slightly and leaned up for a kiss, which he eagerly granted. Beatrice smiled again as he pulled away. "Breakfast is ready."

"Oh," Richard responded, an evil smile peeling across his face as he looked at the dark beauty. "I know it is." With that he turned off the stove, gathered her into his arms and headed back for her bed.

"Richard!" She cried, laughing as he dumped her unceremoniously onto her bed and collected her beneath him. He bent down and kissed her deeply before drawing the curtains tightly around them. He kissed her once more before he wrapped her underneath the heavy, warm covers and tightly into his arms.

"It's time for a nap," Richard murmured into her ear as his eyes grew heavy. "And I just _can't_ fall asleep without my favorite stuffed animal." He kissed her neck softly before allowing his head to fall back onto the pillow.

"You're lucky I love you, otherwise I would have injured you by now," Beatrice huffed out in mock-indigence. Richard was completely unfazed, and a small smile teased his lips again.

"Yes… I _am_ lucky that you love me…" He kissed her neck again before dozing off…

…only to be reawaken by his cell phone.

"Damnit…" Richard grumbled, irritated by the unwelcome noise. He sat up and grabbed his pants at the end of the bed to pull out the damn object. Rolling his eyes as the caller-ID, he flipped it open to begin a conversation.

"This had better be good, I was taking a nap," he stated irritably. Beatrice continued to lay there, but watched him intently from her current position on the pillow.

"I'm only calling to see how things went last night." Bruce seemed genuinely interested, and a hint of teasing was audible in his tone. "Besides, it's almost eleven, what are you still doing in bed?"

"I'm enjoying myself. Now, can I get back to sleep…?" he grumbled slightly frustrated at being detained.

"So, I'm supposing that _Raven_ knows all about _Robin_ then, am I correct?" Bruce seemed very cocky as he placed this question before his ward.

"Yes…" There was a pause. "What are you planning?"

"Oh, nothing… I was just wondering if you and your lady friend would live to visit for a day or two."

So _that_ was it. Damn, cheeky bastard.

"You want to drag her into our search, don't you?" He glanced back at Beatrice, who was watching him with sudden interest. There were new questions sparkling in her eyes, and he didn't have the heart to tell her quite yet.

There was a pause, followed by chuckling, and Richard could almost _swear_ that he could hear the cocky smile on his benefactor's face.

"You're very shrewd for someone your age, Dick."

"I'm taught by the best."

Another string of laughter. "I'm inviting the both of you over for this weekend, there we can decide what we should do about our search."

Richard sighed and turned to Beatrice, who was now sitting up and looking at him inquisitively. "Do you want to go somewhere this weekend, Bea?"

"Maybe," She replied, looking at him strangely. "Where to?"

"My benefactor's house."

She watched him curiously for a moment, and Richard began to realize the Beatrice only knew bits and pieces of his past. And a benefactor was not one of the pieces he told her. This weekend would be a good a time as any.

"If you want to go," She said calmly, drawing her knees up to her chest.

"Yeah," Richard said as he turned back to the phone. "We'll be there in a few hours, okay?"

"I'll be eagerly awaiting your arrival."

(MOO)

Incase you haven't noticed, FFnet is being anal about my prefered page breaks, so I have now subsituted them for ones that look like this: **(MOO)** Not my fault. Blame the administation for being a stupid butt.

So… That's it! That's Chapter Nine! I know it's nothing _extraordinarily_ exciting, but I hope it lived up to your standards of the Bea/Richard fight-and-kiss scene. Okay… so I really don't have anything to say… except that I'm sorry it's taking so darn long to get out. I really wish I had more time to devote myself to this story, but I don't.

Also, I really don't have a lot of chapters in this story left, and don't expect and ending that makes sense. I'm trying to make this be like a prequel to the _Teen Titans_ show, so there is not going to be a definite ending. It'll just sort of _stop_ one day… so PLEASE don't kill me when that day comes.

That's about it… oh yeah! If you haven't read _Fall From the Ninth Circle_ I am now shamelessly plugging it. It is my new Raven/Robin story and I am having a gay old time with it… or something like that.

And I am here to once again plug** my website** and **the link can be found on my profile page.** Just in case you are wondering, or anything.

PLEASE REVIEW!

Lots of Love: Xaph!


	10. Chapter Ten

**Solidarity?**

Chapter 10

_March 12, 2005_

(MOO)

Beatrice raised an eyebrow and stared at her companion incredulously. "I don't believe you…" She muttered after a moment, shaking her head at him. "I cannot believe you never said anything. In all the time we've been together, not a single word was every uttered about _this_."

"Bea… it's not like I could ever tell you… he likes to keep a low profile." Richard hopped off his motorcycle to join his girlfriend's side. He looked up at the familiar mansion, then back at the lavender-haired woman standing next to him. She was looking at the intricate façade with a skeptical expression, as if wondering why any _single_ person would need such an extravagant house.

"Tell me," She replied flatly, crossing her arms over her chest and cocking her hips to the side, "How can you keep a low profile when you rake in _billions_… a _year_? And live in a mansion like _this_?" She waved an arm toward the front of the house.

"I don't know. I guess you'll just have to ask Bruce that," Richard responded with a nonchalant shrug. He took her arm and began leading them up the long walkway to the door. "Look, Bea…" He bit his bottom lip for a moment, before continuing his sentence. He wasn't sure if he should be telling her this, but he knew that there was little point to beating around the bush. "There's a lot more to Bruce than you understand. He's not _just_ my benefactor… well, _I_ can't really tell you what he is, but I'm sure _he_ will."

Beatrice watched him for a moment, then sighed deeply and let him lead her to the front door. The path was long and twisting, and it bothered her that they couldn't just walk across the lawn like normal humans. "You're skirting around the subject very unskillfully," She stated after a heartbeat's rest.

"It's a hard subject to explain and skirt at the same time," Richard responded quickly. They reached the door and Richard pulled out his key to let them in. The door swung open without a sound, and Beatrice was greeted with grandeur and elegance of every kind. It kind of made her sick to think that someone had that kind of money to burn on stupid things, like 2000 square feet of hand-carved mahogany wood paneling, or an 18th century French loveseat. Why do people need such frivolities? What was the point?

"Don't you think this is over the top?" She whispered to her companion, shocked at the way her voice reverberated in the entryway. She felt strangely like she was standing in St. Peter's dome, and it set her teeth on edge.

"Yep." Richard responded without a second's thought. He reached forward and helped Beatrice out of her coat, hoping that she didn't feel _too_ out of place here. "But I've lived here for nearly seven years, so you get used to it aver a while."

"So, what's it like to go from the lap of luxury to the dump we live in?" She questioned as he hung up their things. He laughed slightly as he turned to her, and smiled. She looked a little strangely at him, wondering why living in their hellhole would be a humorous subject to him.

"It feels great, actually. When I lived here, it was no picnic, Bea. I was under constant scrutiny and observation, and very little was just handed to me. Living on my own is a lot better now because of what Bruce taught me…" He paused to look at her slightly shocked face, then added: "And because I don't have him breathing down my neck every two minutes."

"No," Beatrice said sarcastically, rolling her eyes slightly at his benefactor's god-awful timing, "instead he calls you every twenty seconds… and _interrupts_ us."

"Don't get mad at _me_ because he's obsessive compulsive about calling me. It's not like I'm related to him or anything." He turned to his left and began walking through a door, motioning Beatrice to follow him.

They walked for a minute or two in complete silence, as Richard lead them deeper and deeper through a maze of hallways and corridors. Finally Beatrice turned to him and spoke. "Is this like a rat-maze for humans? Or have we suddenly stumbled onto the last, hidden Labyrinth?"

Her companion chuckled lightly, his eyes never leaving the space in front of him. "It seems like this place could be either one of those options. I don't know how many times I've gotten lost and had to wait until Alfred found me. It seemed like I was always being scolded for 'not having a mental-map of the lay-out of the house'."

"Alfred?" Beatrice turned to look at him questioningly.

"Bruce's best friend and butler," Richard responded quickly, "Al's a really nice guy; he's always doing something for me or Bruce." He paused for a moment to look at the lavender-haired woman. "Actually, I think the two of you will get along great." There was a quick pause as Beatrice smiled, unable to respond to the comment.

"Ah-ha… here we are," Richard said as he turned to a door. "Bruce doesn't meet guests often, so it's usually Al's job or mine to go and find him." Beatrice looked at him strangely. "He almost never leaves his study," he immediately explained.

"Ah, that explains how you found him so quickly."

Richard pushed the door and poked his head inside, a few muffled phrases were exchanged, and then he motioned Beatrice to follow him into Bruce Wayne's private study; this was an honor granted to very few.

"Beatrice," Richard said as she slowly and carefully entered the large, ornately decorated, book-covered room, "I want you to meet my benefactor, Bruce Wayne. Bruce… this is Beatrice, my girlfriend."

The handsome man, who sat behind a boat of a desk, appeared to be about 35, dark-haired, and extraordinarily handsome. He flashed perfectly straight, white teeth at the young woman before getting to his feet and shaking her hand. "Miss Beatrice, I've heard so much about you. It's a pleasure to finally be making your acquaintance."

Although she tried, Beatrice could _not_ help the eyebrow that shot up in response. It seemed to be a natural reaction when someone either put on a front, or was _really_ sleazy; very similar to the way Bruce Wayne had just acted. She forced a smile and nodded politely. "It's wonderful to finally be meeting Richard's benefactor."

"Why don't you sit down…" He motioned them to take a seat, as he gracefully sat down in his own, executive chair. There was a small moment of awkward silence, where no eye contact was made and the only sound in the room was the whir of Bruce's laptop. Finally, Bruce spoke again. "So, Dick tells me that you're studying theater tech."

"Yes." Beatrice watched him carefully, not quite sure where this odd conversation was leading. Being in his presence made her _very_ uneasy; there was something about Bruce Wayne that set her teeth on edge and fine-honed her powers. Something about him seemed… _off._

"Oh, Richard," Bruce said suddenly, turning to his "son". Richard nodded to show he was alert, and not dozing off from the lack of conversation. "I had Alfred prepare your room for you… I hope you don't mind, but I assumed that you and Beatrice would be sharing a room…"

Beatrice's face quickly blossomed with a newfound, red blush. She couldn't do anything but turn away and start looking at the books on the shelves. Richard glanced from his suddenly uncomfortable girlfriend to his benefactor, and shot him another icy stare. It really wasn't his place to be assuming things like that; Beatrice was very private about her life and liked to keep it that way.

"That's fine…" Richard said shortly. He looked towards his girlfriend. "Are you okay with that, Bea?"

Beatrice tore her eyes away from "Tax Laws 1999-2000" and turned to Richard. Her burning red color was still evident on her pale face. She looked out the window and shrugged. "I guess… if you don't mind."

"No-" Richard stopped his sentence short as he notice a small, blue light was blinking on Bruce's phone. He sighed deeply and looked at his benefactor calmly. "Bruce, it appears you have _a call_. I think Bea and I will go unpack while you take it."

Bruce nodded knowingly, his face suddenly turning grave. Beatrice noticed that his new expression aged his face nearly ten years, and exhaustion was apparent in his eyes. "Yes. This is a very important call I've been waiting for." He paused for a heartbeat as Beatrice and Richard rose to their feet. "I hope you enjoy your stay, Beatrice. And I hope I am able to make dinner this evening. Pleas, don't hesitate to ask Alfred if you need anything…"

Richard nodded curtly, cutting his benefactor off. No more time could be wasted with a call such as this one. "I'll talk to you later, Bruce." The couple made their way to the door, and exited the room. Beatrice looked at Richard, then at the heavy wooden door, then back to Richard again.

"He sets me on edge," she spoke finally, "and I think I've figured out why."

Richard raised an eyebrow, as if silently asking her to explain.

"Who was Batman's sidekick for so many years… until he left one day to go and patrol the West End of Jump City?" Beatrice asked rhetorically. She walked to the banister and looked down a flight of stairs into a large room below. Richard's face flushed, and he turned away from her. There was a long pause, and then he joined her side at the banister.

"You're a lot smarter than I give you credit for…" He sighed deeply. There was another pause, and Richard turned to her. "You're right though, Bruce is Batman… and he's brought you here for a reason."

"That being…?" Beatrice arched an eyebrow.

Richard started down the hall and motioned for her to follow, which she promptly did. "Remember a few months ago, when you were attacked?"

"Yes…" she stated hesitantly, as if she wasn't quite sure where this conversation was going. What did her attack have to do with _Batman_? And why was Robin so frustrated about it?

"That wasn't a demon, or evil spirit, or anything like that… Bruce and I think it is a collective of nano-robots. We think that they were taking samples of blood to get information on your powers, and Starfire's powers, and Cyborg's tech… we think that they were trying to get information on us by drawing out blood…" he stopped speaking and took a long, deep breath, trying to figure out just what else he should tell her. There was so much that she needed to be informed of. And yet, Richard didn't_ want _to expose her just yet. He suddenly had a deep, innate fear that if he did… something terrible might happen to her.

"And you want me to help you look for the person sending out the nano-bots?" She questioned, looking at him calmly.

"Yes. Well… it's a little more complicated than that." Richard shifted uncomfortably under her serene, unwavering gaze. She was far to calm for something as dangerous and important as this.

"It's always more complicated." Beatrice rolled her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest and continued to watch him carefully.

"Deathstroke," he paused, thought for a moment, and then continued, correcting the name. "_Slade_, is powerful… far more powerful than I can explain to you. Batman and I have been fighting him off and on for years. He's cunning, ruthless, and highly intelligent." Richard stopped to open a door, and led Beatrice inside a new room. "Right now, we just need some help before we can decide what we should do…"

Beatrice sighed deeply and rolled her eyes. She took one quick glance around the new room, and then turned to look back at Richard. "Call me crazy, but if Slade is too powerful for just _one_ person… wouldn't it make sense to team up with one another. What about you and I get together with Starfire and Cyborg and Beast Boy? What harm can come from that?"

Richard's face flushed slightly and he looked away, shifting slightly. "It's more complicated than that," he repeated.

"Is that so?"

"Look, Bea. Garfield and I get along well enough, but as for the others… well, they're best left alone. You never know what could happen if you put too many superheroes together… you start to have conflicting view points, your attacks aren't synchronized, and all hell breaks loose." Richard kicked off his shoes and flopped down onto a familiar, deep, soft bed. The scent of fresh fabric softener wafted up to his nose and he smiled. He had forgotten how much he loved his bed, if anything it was definitely a change from the lumpy rock he slept on back home.

"Didn't it work for the Justice League?"

Richard groaned and rolled away from his companion, feeling as if the subject was becoming a royal pain. "Look, Bea… the matter is _complicated_ there's nothing we can do about it…"

"Well…" The mattress shifted as Beatrice crawled on it and snuggled next to Richard. He hated it when she did that, because it always made him weak and the knees… and she knew it too. She knew that she could just snuggle up to him and he would do whatever she wanted. "Who's to say it won't work?"

Richard rolled over and encircled her waist with his arm. He looked into her dark, beautiful eyes and sighed slightly. "I think its best if you just let the whole matter drop, Bea. There's not much that can be done and I think we should just face it."

Beatrice sighed deeply and shook her head. "I'm only suggesting."

"I know you're trying to help… but let's just put off work and thinking for a little longer, please?" He leaned over and kissed her sweetly. "And besides…" His trademark grin appeared on the tips of his lips. "I never did get my nap in this morning."

"Oh, you poor, _poor_ child…" Beatrice said sarcastically, but she couldn't help the smile that worked at the edges of her mouth. She kissed him once more, before she let herself get wrapped up in his warm embrace. Maybe he was right… maybe she didn't need to worry just this moment…

(MOO)

Okay… so I know it's short and everything… But I think the next chapter might be the last… so expect it to be like crazy ridiculously long; or long for me. Expect the Titans to get together, fight with each other… and then go fight Slade… and I will leave the rest of the story to your imagination.

OKAY! I just need to give a shout-out here: VinnieTheGeek! You're today's shout-out. I want to dedicate this chapter to you, because you've read like every Teen titans story I've ever written and always left great reviews! You so totally ROCK!

Anyways… Still plugging my website! There I have art and stories that you can only find THERE! So go and check it out, you might find something cool… who knows!

PLEASE REVIEW! It always makes me feel so darn special!


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Solidarity?**

Chapter Eleven

March 19, 2005 

(MOO)

Beatrice slumbered softly next to Richard as they lay in bed. The sun had long since set, and the two young lovers had slept the afternoon away. But now that he was awake, Richard was being plagued by Beatrice's very convincing arguments. Why _didn't_ the five of them get together? True, they had their differences, but they had a lot of common ground as well, and they were each very powerful. It didn't seem to make sense for the five of them to stay separate for so long, not when they could have a bigger impact together.

There was a soft knock on the door before it opened. Richard instinctively drew the sheet over Beatrice's bare shoulder. She was beautiful, and he had no intention of sharing that beauty with any other eyes. Including Alfred, who had just poked his head into his room.

"Hello, Master Dick. I just wanted to let you know that your presence was requested by Master Bruce." He whispered, and passed a very friendly and knowing smile at the young man, "Are you able to come down?"

Richard nodded. "Yeah, I'll be there in just a few minutes."

"I'll tell Master Bruce…" Alfred nodded once before pulling back and closing the door. Richard stretched his limbs gently, and took one last look at Beatrice before he slid out of the warm bed and dressed.

"Where are you going?" Beatrice muttered as his hand hit the doorknob. Richard gave a start and turned around quickly, his gaze meeting dark eyes. "Why didn't you wake me up?" She sat up, the sheet falling from her body and exposing her bare skin to him. He felt his cheeks get warm suddenly, and there was a strange, innate desire to lock the doors and say 'to hell with Bruce'.

"Bruce wants to talk to me." He left the door and padded softly to his girlfriend, giving her an innocent kiss on the lips.

"Oh?" Beatrice suddenly became aware of her state of undress, and pulled the sheet around her body again, much to Richard's disappointment. "Well, go forth and do what you need to." She fell back onto the mattress and looked up him.

"I'm going to tell him what you told me," Richard stated bluntly, looking a little sheepishly to the side. He always hated admitting when he was wrong, and it was always worse when he had to admit it to Beatrice. "I think… I think you're right. It's stupid for us to be separate when we could do so much more good together."

"Well," Beatrice smiled up at him, "I'm glad you're starting to see things from a different perspective." As much as she tried to fight it, she couldn't help that her expression was a little smug. It was nice to know, however, that her ideas weren't being simply tossed aside; that Richard was actually _thinking_ about what she said. Raven hadn't been fighting crime for as long as Robin, but there were some things that seemed common sense… which he lacked on occasion.

"I'll come get you for dinner, okay?" Richard leaned down and kissed her forehead. Beatrice simply nodded, and he smiled softly before turning to leave. He didn't particularly like to leave Beatrice alone, but there wasn't much else he could do. Bruce had called him, and Richard was forced to answer.

"Nice to see you've arrived back in one piece," Richard said with a smirk, as he entered his benefactor's study. Bruce sat on a chair as Alfred disinfected and dressed his several, oddly placed wounds. "Who was it this time?"

"Johnny Rancid," Bruce bit out between clenched teeth, as Alfred gently rubbed alcohol on an open wound. He let out a long hiss of pained breath before speaking again. "He's got that damned contaminated knife of his, and he got a few good hits in."

"Looks almost like you're getting a little careless," Richard responded, cocking a rather smug smile at the older man. He knew he was treading on dangerous ground, but his benefactor was in far too much pain to do anything about it.

"If I wasn't being fixed up right now," Bruce said harshly, his eyes narrowing at the younger man, "you'd find yourself on the floor."

"I'm glad you two have such a loving relationship," Alfred interjected quickly, a slight musical and mocking tone to his voice. His dark eyes lifted and smiled playfully at Richard, who chuckled softly in response. There was definitely a strange relationship between the two of them… but it was something special. It was a fraternal bond.

Richard moved languidly across the study to plop down in a chair across from Bruce. He actually wasn't _that_ worried about the older man's wounds; Bruce had been in far worse scrapes before and had come out spotless. Besides, Bruce _hated_ it when Richard fussed over him, he said it made him feel like he was an old, decrepit man.

"There," Alfred said finally as he pulled away from his wounded friend, "You're all patched up now, Master Bruce. But, be careful for the rest of this evening, I don't want to have to stitch you up again." The elder man moved to put away the small medical kit he carried. And when he was finished he nodded politely to his companions before exiting the study.

"So, you slept the whole afternoon?" Bruce asked, after Alfred had left. He raised a questioning eyebrow at the handsome young man in front of him.

Richard shrugged calmly in response and leaned back into his chair. "Among other things," He responded ambiguously, as his eyes drifted to the blazing fire in the fireplace. There was a long pause before he turned back to his benefactor. "She figured out who you are, Bruce." His gaze was serious and worrisome, as if telling Bruce this news would anger him greatly. Surprisingly, the older man appeared to be unfazed by this new information, he merely shrugged and leaned back in his chair.

"I expected she would put two and two together," he replied, his own eyes drifting to the hypnotic red-gold blaze. "Raven is very intelligent. All the reports I've read about her show her to have a very sharp and sound mind…" He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, as if trying to decide what to say next. Finally, he moved to look again at his ward. "I also know that you told her about our search."

"You have eyes and ears everywhere, Bruce," Richard replied stoically, his gaze shifting to meet the older man's, "I didn't expect for you to _not_ find out. I told her, and she wants to help… but…" He shifted a little, as if uncomfortable about what he was going to say next. "But she thinks we would have a much better chance at fighting with and defeating Slade if all the Jump City heroes banded together."

Bruce looked mildly surprised, as his eyebrows shot up slightly. "Is that what she thinks?" He took on a thoughtful look for a few minutes, and waited in silence until all his mental strings were tied together. "I guess she has a very valid point… I don't see why all of you _can't _get together. After all, each of you protect the city… and there _is_ strength in numbers."

Richard let his head roll back, and he let a long sigh escape his lips. "You _agree_ with her?" He let a low growl escape from the back of his throat.

"Dick," Bruce said airily, trying to reason with the headstrong, young man, "the four –now five– of you have been fighting petty crimes in Jump City for nearly a year now. No one, not even you, or me, or even Victor ever expected a _serious_ threat might arise… I think, Beatrice is right. There is strength, not to mention security, in numbers." There was a heartbeat of a pause, and Bruce nodded his head decidedly, as if he had made up his mind and would not change it for anything. "I will contact the others this evening… we will figure this problem out together."

Richard's head popped up and he looked rather sourly at his benefactor. "She's never going to let me live this down now, I hope you know." He crossed his arms over his chest and pouted slightly.

A slight chuckle spilled from the older man's lips. "That's your own fault for trying to have a mental match with someone like _Raven_." He stood up slowly, hoping his wounds were going to be agitated. He didn't have time to heal tonight; there was something far more important that needed his attention. "I'm going to call the others, why don't you and Raven have dinner and then meet me in the library."

Richard stood up and shook his head gently. "I really wish you would stop calling Bea that," he said exasperatedly, "I don't think she likes the title too much."

"Like it or not," Bruce began firmly as he moved behind his desk, "She _is_ Raven, there is no way for her to change who she is now. She will become a member of Jump City's little force of heroic titans."

Richard let out a snort, and a smirk passed over his lips at his benefactor's odd word choice. "Titans? Somehow I don't think that's something we should be called…" He grinned mockingly at the older man. "Or shall I start calling myself Saturn?"

"Suit yourself," Bruce shrugged nonchalantly as he picked up the phone, "but I would be honored if someone compared me to a titan. It'd make me feel strong and powerful."

"And Greek too… kind of makes _me_ want to go read about the birth of Zeus and Hera…" Richard laughed a little more before he went to the door. He paused for a moment as his fingers touched smooth metal, and then he turned and looked at Bruce. "I'll get some food in Bea and I, and then we'll meet you and the others in the library in an hour, alright?"

"That's fine," Bruce said, slightly distracted as he dialed numbers into his phone. "I'll see you then."

"Bye…" As Richard stepped out of the office he had a strange feeling like he was leaving something behind. Something important that he should remember forever… 'That's stupid,' he thought sharply, as he walked down the dark, eerie hall. 'I'm leaving nothing behind, but I _am_ stepping into the unknown. But at least I won't be alone.' He smiled slightly, a light blush filling his cheeks at the thought of companionship. 'At least I'll be with Bea. Even if it is the unknown, I'll journey it with her.'

He opened the door to his room and walked in, finding the covers to their bed tossed in an unruly fashion, as if someone had decidedly jumped out of it without bothering to remake the covers. The scent of lavender wafted headily from his bathroom, and he could surmise that Beatrice was taking a bath.

"Hey, Bea?" He poked his head into the bathroom to find Beatrice soaking in the deep, bubble-filled tub with a book in her hands. She looked up at him and smiled, her eyes brightening slightly.

"Hi. How was Bruce? Is he still in one piece?" She asked, closing her copy of _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ and setting it to the side. Richard sauntered into the room and sat down on the edge of the tub. He silently cursed the bubbles for being so thick and blocking his view of her flawless body. It really _was_ a shame to hide something so heavenly from him.

"Bruce is fine, a little sore from his last fight," Richard responded calmly. "Apparently his opponent took a few good hits at him." He smiled slightly as he finally noticed the rare content expression Beatrice was carrying. "Are you enjoying yourself?" He asked, reaching forward and brushing a loose strand of hair from her face.

"We don't have a bathtub at home and I want to soak. Is that a crime?" She looked up at him and smiled slyly as a devilish thought popped into her mind. "You're more than welcome to join me."

"Don't tempt me, dark one," He teased, placing a single finger on her soft, pouty lips. "As much as you don't want to, you've got to get out and get dressed. Bruce wants to have a little meeting here in an hour, and you haven't eaten yet."

"Alright." Beatrice's normal, cold veil fell over her demeanor and she stood up and stepped out of the bath. She did, however, notice that Richard's eyes never left her body, and she made a bit of a show as she sauntered to her towel and dried herself off. A low growl escaped his lips, and he stood up swiftly. He hated not having the time to make love to her, especially when she was so teasing at the moment… and _naked_.

"Don't tempt me like that, Bea… I'm in a bad mood as it is, and knowing I can't touch you is making it worse." His voice almost seemed like a feral growl as he snapped sharply at her. He walked out of the bathroom and returned with some jeans and her favorite sweatshirt. "Hurry up and get dressed, you need to eat before this damned meeting."

"I'm not sure if I like you when you're sour," Beatrice responded calmly as she dressed. "You're very rude to me." Her eyes narrowed slightly and she slipped out of the bathroom, Richard close behind her. He suddenly felt like he was running in circles and getting nowhere with anybody.

"Look, Bea… it's just…" He took a deep breath to calm himself, and waited as she put on shoes. "It's just Bruce thought you were right. He thought it would be a far better idea if all of us got together…" Her looked away, and made a face of frustration.

"You're angry at me for being right?" Beatrice cocked her hips to the side and raised a questioning eyebrow. "That doesn't seem very mature."

He offered his hand to her. Raven accepted it graciously and the two of them walked down the cavernous halls together to the kitchen. "I'm _frustrated_ because now I have to deal with _Kory_ and _Victor_, that's why I'm frustrated or angry… or whatever."

"_Kory_?" Beatrice's eyes glowed white for a fraction of a second. "You've _got_ to be kidding me!" Memories of her first meeting with Kory snapped back into her mind. She really didn't want to see the pretty redhead throw her curvaceous body around, trying to seduce Richard. It wasn't a very pleasing sight.

"Well," Richard responded conversationally as they turned a corner. "I would just keep your fist at bay. Being on the receiving end of it several times, I don't think she would appreciate it if you popped her one in the face."

"She better keep her hands off you, or I won't need to use my fist. My emotions control my powers, and they do just about whatever they want." Beatrice's lips pursed in irritation at the prospect of having to meet _her_ again; she had no desire to see her whatsoever.

"My, my are you _jealous_, Beatrice?" Richard asked, his lips curling into a sly smile. Although, the smile was quickly terminated as Beatrice let her eyes glow for a quick moment. He was smart enough to realize that he shouldn't pick a fight with a half demon, particularly when she was irritated. Instead, he settled for feeding her. She should at least eat _something_ before life, as they knew it, ceased to exist.

"Come on, let's get you some food."

(MOO)

Okay, so I know I said this was going to a long chapter, and it was going to the last, but I lied. As I was writing this chapter I realized the last chapter would be like fifteen pages long, and that's just far too long for a single chapter… or something like that.

So expect the next chapter to be the last, and I mean it this time! Cross my heart and hope to die… from eating chocolate!

THIS WEEK'S SHOUT OUT: **Sarah Cabbage Patch**! Why? Because you ROCK! … and I'm trying to motivate you to update. I miss your stories so much! They need some TLC from their author! PWEASE?

Okay… that being said, **please leave a review**! I always love it when I hear from the readers!


	12. Chapter Twelve

**PLEASE NOTE:** This is a brand new Chapter Twelve. I was so irritated with the "we're the Titans and now there's six of us!" ending that I _had_ to fix it. So, after some sleepless nights and many thrown projectiles, I have started _Solidarity?_ All over again for your viewing pleasure! Enjoy!

**Solidarity?**

NEW CHAPTER TWELVE!

_May 15, 2005_

(MOO)

"You're pacing."

Richard stopped mid-step and turned to the dark girl in the corner. She was curled up in a chair, book in hand, and watching him as he walked the length of the room and back again. Any idiot could see he was anxious, frustrated, and stressed at the sudden turn of events. What bothered _him_, however, was that Beatrice looked as happy as a clam. It was as if she wasn't harboring any sort of nervous pretenses toward this meeting, unlike Richard.

"You're not," he responded rather weakly.

Beatrice closed her book and continued to watch him, just to make sure he didn't wear a hole through the pricey, Oriental rug. "I'm _not_ nervous," she stated bluntly. Pause. "You look a little green. Are you feeling all right, Richard?"

"Fine… I'm just…" He stopped and looked over at Beatrice, the firelight casting eerie shadows on her face and body. "I'm just worried about how the others are going to take this whole 'lets get together and save the world!' deal. It's really not their thing…" He walked over the dark heroine and plopped into a chair next to her.

"You said it yourself: we can't beat Slade single-handedly… we have to become a team." Her gaze, although dark and cool, was still comforting. She was trying to be supportive of Richard, while still making him see this was the right way to go about things. And gods bless her; she was doing a good job.

Richard raked a hand through his spiky hair. "I know… I know."

"It's going to be okay." Beatrice leaned over her chair and into his. Her gaze caught his and held it in reassurance, calming Richard instantly. How was she able to do that with just one look?

"Sometimes I feel like your eyes are magical…" Richard whispered, his fingertips reaching out and stroking her face.

Beatrice laughed, her eyes dancing in the flickering light. "They can be if I let them." She leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to Richard's lips.

"What in hell is going on here…" a low, deep, and _very_ surprised voice called across the hall. "Who is this? What is going on?"

Richard snapped up from the deep chair, his face suddenly returning to a greenish shade with a dark blush. He cleared his throat nervously, and then took several steps into the shadows. After low words were exchanged, and harsh whispers thrown at one another, a tall, dark man was finally brought into the weak firelight.

Richard glanced apprehensively from Beatrice to Victor and back again. It wasn't that he was worried about the two of them getting along, he was actually more worried about the house staying in one piece. Victor had an ego the size of Gotham, and Beatrice had a temper that could blow up the whole estate.

"Bea, this is Victor… he's ah… he's Cyborg."

Beatrice let a flicker of a smile pass over her lips, as if she was trying to be polite. "Hello, Victor."

"_You're_ Raven?"

'Oh shit,' Richard through, falling into a chair and holding his head in his hands. He knew this was going to happen. He just knew it. Victor_ had_ to go and use that insulting tone with her, and now the world was going to Hell in a hand basket.

"_I'm_ Raven. Do you have a problem with it?"

"I just might."

Beatrice's eyes narrowed. "Watch what you wish for."

"Victor! Bea!" Richard snapped to his feet and glared at both of them accusingly. "We're not here to fight each other, we're here to be a team. Victor, stop provoking her. And Bea, stop responding. We're never going to get anywhere if we can't at least tolerate each other." His eyes flashed at the two of them. Victor held up his hands and walked back into the shadows, where as Beatrice took up her chair again and brooded.

"See," Richard whispered to her as he sat down. "I _told_ you getting together would be a bad idea."

"Why? Because Metal-Moron over there didn't have enough foresight to be polite?" Beatrice arched an eyebrow and shook her head. "That's such a good reason to let the world be taken over by a psychopath with nanobots; because Victor and I don't get along." She rolled her eyes and leaned back into the chair.

"Beatrice…" Richard rubbed his face gently, and then took a deep, calming breath. Who knew it was so damn hard to reason with a half-demon? Why did she have to be so stubborn anyway? "I think we just need to let this slide… It's going to become a pain in the ass if all of us don't agree, and then we'll never get anything done."

"You're just being a wuss and backing out." Beatrice smirked lightly at him, watching as his face turned a very vibrant shade of pink.

"I _really_ hope I didn't just hear the word 'wuss' come out of your mouth, _and_ directed at me."

Her smirk widened into a teasing grin. "You better believe it."

"That's it," Richard said, leaning forward and letting his voice drop low in warning. "You're gonna get it tonight. I hope you don't expect to sleep, because it's not happening. _No one_ calls _me_ a 'wuss' and goes without punishment." His eyes flashed angrily at her, but he couldn't keep the smile from passing over his face. Just the thought of "punishing" Beatrice made all of his nerves scream for contact.

"Am I supposed to be frightened by this?"

"You should be…" He smirked.

"Dude… what's _she_ doing here?"

Richard, for the second time that evening, snapped to his feet and turned around sharply. A green skinned boy stood in the center of the library and stared at him with a strong amount of incredulity. What was _Richard_ doing with his_ ex-stage manager_ at a _top-secret_ meeting for _superheroes?_

"What's going on?" His gaze snapped from Beatrice to Richard and back again.

"_That_ is _Raven_," Victor piped up from is dark corner across the room.

Garfield's gaze snapped around to look into the shadows and see Victor standing there with a sullen look in his eyes. He actually looked angry about Raven's appearance, and even more so that she was flirting with the Boy Wonder. This wasn't supposed to be a frolic of raging hormones; it was a meeting to discuss the future of Jump City.

"Are you kidding me?" Garfield turned back to Beatrice and arched an eyebrow. "How come you never told me?"

"It wasn't exactly on my list of priorities to tell a talking plant my secret identity." She shrugged slightly. "Besides, _you_ never told me you were _Beast Boy_."

Garfield grinned broadly, a sly glint shinning in his eyes. "If I did, you would have to fight to keep your hands off me."

"Stop flirting with Bea," Richard said quickly, his voice holding a tone of warning. "We're here for a reason, remember?" He took a possessive step toward Beatrice, whose face was now fighting to remain placid. She actually found it quite humorous that Richard was upset over Garfield's harmless flirting. That was just the way he was; cocky and flirtatious.

"Fine, fine." Garfield waved a dismissive hand. "Don't get your panties in a twist because I'm flirting with your girlfriend." There was a pause as his eyes darted around the room, as if he were looking for something or someone. "Hey, where's Kory anyway? I thought she would be the first one here. You know, so she could paw all over you and everything."

"Hmph!" Beatrice snarled suddenly and turned away from Richard.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose slightly, trying to ease an oncoming headache. Just the thought of Beatrice and Kory in the same room was enough to make him sick. "Don't talk about you-know-who. Bea and she don't exactly get along…"

"That's putting it lightly." Beatrice snorted indelicately and took a few steps across the room. Richard shrugged slightly and turned back to Garfield.

"I think she's jea-"

"If you say it, Richard, I will kick your ass so hard you'll end up in next week." Beatrice snapped her teeth viscously at them, as if saying 'just _try_ it'. Richard and Garfield exchanged nervous looks and slowly backed away.

"Scary…" The green one commented.

"Try living with her." Richard chuckled with Garfield, but the laughter was short-lived as a large-print, unabridged edition of _War and Peace_ came hurling towards his head, missing him by mere millimeters. He turned around to see Beatrice standing next to a bookshelf and smiling coyly at him.

"Dick."

Richard looked up and faced Alfred standing in the doorway. The older man looked a bit exasperated, and _highly_ irritated. "Hey, Al. What's the matter?"

"Miss Kory has arrived." He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and let out a sigh. "She wants you to come and escort her to the library."

Garfield snorted as he noticed the expression on Richard's face. He looked like someone had just sentenced him to ten years of torture, followed by a long and painful death… which might actually happen. One could never tell where Beatrice was concerned. "Go forth and rescue your princess, oh knight in shinning armor."

_War and Peace_ suddenly had a change in it's flight path, and was directed toward the green one's head. "Gah! That's not funny, Beatrice!" He ducked under a coffee table and waited until the book clattered to the floor.

"I find it highly amusing." Beatrice staked her claim on the over-stuffed chair again, and she plopped down in it. Richard shook his head and glided up next to her.

"Don't kill him while I'm gone, Bea…" He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Oh, I wouldn't be worried about him being killed." Her smile was shrewd, and held a strange emotion that Richard did _not_ like seeing in her eyes. "I'd be more worried about yourself, if I was you. Touch her and you will die a long, horrible death…"

"Is that a threat?"

"Yes. So be wary."

"I'm strangely turned on by this."

Beatrice let out a laugh, and turned her face towards him. "That wasn't my intention, I hope you know."

"Oh, I know." With another sly smile, he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room into certain doom.

"Wow…"

Beatrice looked up at the dark man hiding in the shadows. "What?" She questioned, still a little sore about the way Victor had treated her.

"I've never seen him so happy." Victor came back into the firelight and took the chair next to Beatrice. He watched her for several moments, and then shook his head in amazement. "I mean it. I've known Dick for a long time, ever since his parents died, and I've _never_ seen him like this. I've never seen him be… _playful_."

Beatrice flushed red and turned away. "It's not like I do anything spectacular."

"Vic's right." Garfield warily poked his head out from underneath the coffee table. "Dick acts different around you. Like he's happy. He's always kind of been distant with everybody, but not lately. And especially not with you."

Beatrice drew her knees up to her chest, and turned away slightly. She knew that Richard's parents had died; he told her himself. But she _didn't_ know that he had been as withdrawn as the others were saying. To her, he was always very friendly and open. There was never anything lacking during their relationship, and Beatrice thought that was just who he was. But maybe there was a lot more between them than she perceived.

She looked up at the two men and let a small smile pass. "Thanks."

(MOO)

"I'm going to shoot her. I really am." Richard raked his fingers through his hair as he started falling into his habit of pacing the room. "I hope she doesn't expect me to be _nice_ to her tomorrow."

Beatrice laughed lightly as she stripped off her sweatshirt and began looking for a tank top to wear to bed. "Come on now," she teased, pulling on the dark red shirt. "Just because she came here late, forced you to escort her to the library, and then declared herself too tired to do any sort of planning, doesn't mean that you should _kill_ her. Maybe a stern talking would do the trick?" She couldn't hold her laughter as she watched the field of emotions run across Richard's face.

"You do realize that by saying she was 'too tired', she _was_ insinuating that she was going to sleep with me." He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"But she's not, is she?" Beatrice stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I should think not!"

"Good…Then come to bed. After all, I distinctly remember you telling me I was to be punished for calling you a 'wuss'." Beatrice nipped at his lower lip and smiled seductively at him.

"Ah… yes… that's right." Richard grabbed Beatrice and threw her onto the bed in an unceremonious heap of sheets and laughter. "I remember now. I had informed you of the rule that _no one_ calls we a 'wuss' and goes without punishment." He leaned forward and suckled gently on her neck, dousing himself in her sweet scent. "Your punishment…" His hands slipped up the bottom of her shirt. "Will have to be going without sleep tonight."

"Is that so?" She grinned playfully at him as he pulled the shirt off over her head. "What am I supposed to do if I don't sleep?"

"Oh… I'm sure I can find something for you to do…" he lowered his head to her breast, feeling very pleased at the cry that erupted from her lips. "I just might have to think about it for a while."

"Rich…ard?"

Richard shot up, knowing that sweet, innocent voice didn't belong to Beatrice. He cringed slightly as his girlfriend's angered expression told him all that he needed to know. There was a third person in the room. He pulled himself off Beatrice, feeling very bereft as he did so, and turned around to face Kory.

(MOO)

So, there you go! Plenty of wiggle room for me to write something better than the previous ending. I hope you enjoyed it, and will enjoy the next chapter as well! So, PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! It only takes a few seconds and it makes me feel so SPECIAL!

Love: Xaph!


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